Dealer of Fate
by Apocalyptical
Summary: On that fateful Halloween night, something went terribly wrong. Now Harry is dead to the Wizarding World and Voldemort is believed to be dead at another's hand...er...paw. An old legend has resurfaced, and change is unavoidable. AU, betaing in progress
1. So It Begins

**Disclaimer:**Harry Potter is not mine. I do not own the copyrights to the books, movies, or any other random Harry Potter merchandise that is floating around. If I did, this stuff would be published, 100 times better written, and the epilogue wouldn't be as crappy.

**Author's Note: **This was written for NanoWriMo, but due to lack of time, I was only able to get half of the needed word count. However, this story is still in progress, albeit very, very slowly. I'm doing my best to avoid most of the clichés found in the typical Harry Potter fanfiction. Therefore, I will add the list of clichés that are not present as I think of them.

This story first started as a parody of the typical Boy-Who-Lived cliché, but now it's not really a parody anymore. However, I can honestly tell you that this is vastly different from most stories where Harry is not believed to be the Savior of the Wizarding World.

Many of the names, places, and even some of the phrases have an important significance or meaning

I don't know if this is going to be a lot of slash (read: not all of the relationships will be between a girl and a guy). I'm still debating it, to be honest. I have a couple possible storylines promoting certain undecided relationships at the moment. However, there will be at least one surprise slash pairing that only my beta and I know at the moment. Neither my beta nor I can decide, and she keeps coming up with good pairing ideas that are counterproductive to**my **pairing ideas.

**Beta: Shower's Inc**

**Decided Pairings:** James/Lily, Ron/Hermione, Petunia/OC, OC/OC

**Warnings:**AU, Character Death, Language, Possible Blood and Gore, Slash, Non-Slash, Manipulative Dumbledore, Independent!Harry, OOC-ness (out of character-ness), OC's (original characters), Mild to Severe Spoilers (Books 1-7)

**Summary: **On that fateful Halloween night, something went terribly wrong. Now Harry is dead to the Wizarding World and Voldemort is believed to be dead at another's hand...er...paw. An old legend has resurfaced, and it is only a matter of time before the Wizarding World is reintroduced to...The Dealer of Fate. Nothing will ever be the same again.

* * *

**Dealer of Fate**

**Chapter One  
So It Begins**

**October 31, 1981**

"James! James, do you have the keys?" a voice yelled from the back of the two-story house.

A man with messy black hair dressed in a sharp-looking tux waved a blue wizard's-hat key chain around, making it tinkle. "Right here, honey; hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"I know, James! James, have you seen my necklace? The one with the emerald?"

"Dresser, third drawer on the left. Come on, Lily, we've got to go!" James shifted his weight from side to side, impatiently waiting for his beloved wife.

"It's not there!"

"Are you sure?"

There was silence from the back of the room, bar the sound of various items being moved and shuffled through.

"Aha! Found it! Somehow it ended up under a pillow. Next to your Quidditch porn." A beautiful woman with long red hair hustled out into the living room where James was waiting. She was wearing a shimmering red gown and her hair was in an elegant updo. Her missing necklace dangled in her left hand.

"My Quidditch magazines are most certainly not porn, Mrs. I-Read-Soft-Core-Porn-Disguised-As-Literary-Classics."

"That was one time. One time!" Lily turned her back to James, offering him the necklace. He undid the clasp, and it promptly slipped from his fingers.

"Damn things," he grumbled, trying to reopen the clasp only to have it slip from his fingers once again. On the third try he finally managed to get the necklace around her neck.

"How do I look?" Lily asked, smoothing down her dress.

James smiled and leaned in, kissing her on the cheek. "Gorgeous. Now let's go, they're expecting us in half an hour tops."

Lily rolled her eyes, but grinned nonetheless. "If I recall, Mr. Potter, you and your ragtag bunch of friends were tardy every single day of your lives during Hogwarts, with the exception of Remus, of course."

"Of course," James laughed. "Shall we go then, Mrs. Potter?"

She smiled up at him before turning to the quiet figure standing in the corner of the room. "Are you sure you don't mind keeping an eye on them, Peter? Harry's a doll, but Roscoe can be a bit of a pain. Their bottles are in the fridge; the milk carton with the green lid is breast milk, so don't drink that. Toys are in the green toy box; Harry prefers the dog and wolf toys, Roscoe prefers the deer ones."

"Stag!" James interjected.

"Right, Roscoe prefers the deer toys. They should go to bed in about an hour, but Roscoe won't fall asleep in the crib so you'll have to rock him to sleep. Emergency numbers are next to the phone."

"Lily! We've got to go!"

Lily glared at her husband. "Hold on, I'm not quite through. Thanos's dog food is kept on the porch. He's already been fed, so you'll just have to let him out in about half an hour. He likes to sleep in the boys' room, so let him. His toys are in the red toy box, just keep the lid open and he'll be fine."

"Lily!"

"There's been a strange dog lurking around, so keep an eye out for it. We haven't been able to get a good look at it, but be careful. Don't let any strangers in the house—"

"Lily, we're under the Fidelius. The boys will be fine, the dog will be fine, the house will be fine, and Peter will be fine. Let's go!"

She rounded on her husband. "Merlin help me, James, be patient for just one minute before I hex you!"

"Lily, I'm sure I'll be fine. You left me with a list, so I'm sure we'll be okay for a couple of hours. Go, have fun." Peter smiled, ushering the couple out the door.

"But Peter, there's one last thing! Thanos—"

It was too late, because the door had already shut in her face.

"Let's go, Lilyflower, we're expected to arrive soon."

Lily sighed. "I hope this muggle Policemen's Ball is worth it, James, because if Peter—"

James smiled disarmingly. "Of course it's worth it, Lils. We'll be able to have fun, and Old Mad Eye asked we be there personally. Something about intercultural relations. Peter will be able to handle them fine, Lily, don't worry."

Lily sighed, looking at the house worriedly before climbing into their blue 1978 Triumph. "I hope you're right, James. I hope you're right…"

* * *

"Damn mutt," Peter cursed, kicking the small Keeshond puppy. Contrary to its breed's temperament, the tiny canine growled aggressively, baring its teeth.

Peter stuck his head into the babies' room. Little Harry with his messy black hair and vivid emerald eyes stared at him solemnly, while Roscoe with his bright red hair and hazel eyes screamed loudly, his face beet red and tears streaming down his face. Peter scowled.

"One of you is my master's prophesied downfall. Nothing personal."

His face twisted into a sneer, and he walked back to the living room, kicking Thanos again as he walked by. Thanos yelped, but latched onto Peter's trouser leg, growling menacingly. Peter kicked him off, and Thanos retreated to the babies' nursery, glowering at the man.

Peter traversed the living room, looking at all of the pictures hanging on the walls and placed on various surfaces. Lily and James frowned at him from a large picture on the wall, cradling a wide-eyed Harry and a bawling Roscoe. James Potter's parents silently cursed at him from a picture balanced on top of the television, and Lily's family stared blankly from a muggle picture also balanced on the television. All around him were unhappy, scowling faces glaring at him from photographs.

Peter sneered at them and at the predominantly red-themed room.

The doorbell rang, and Peter hurried to the door, opening it for a tall man in a black cloak. Peter's manner changed from confident to sniveling in .003 seconds.

"Master! You're here; the brats are in the crib, and no one is home, just as you ordered, my lord. An excellent deception, my lord, making the Potters leave the house."

The figure's glowing red eyes locked onto the pitiful man before him. "And the Dragon Eye?"

"Gone, my lord. I tried to hide it in the short space of time I had, but it was discovered."

"Fool!" Lord Voldemort backhanded Peter. Peter fell back on the stand behind him, breaking the lamp standing on it. "That Eye is crucial to my plans! Is there any sign of the Guardian?"

"None, my lord. Just their damn Keeshond dog, and that is most certainly not the Guardian. He was purchased only a short time ago, and the Potters have had no other pets or animals before him."

Lord Voldemort's eyes flashed, but his mouth curled into a nasty smile. "Of all of my followers, you are the most incompetent, foolish,**Gryffindor** of them all!" he roared, withdrawing his wand. "Avada Ked—"

Peter's eyes widened, and he latched onto Lord Voldemort's arm, cutting the Dark Lord's curse off partway. "My lord, please, reconsider! We agreed on a stunning spell!"

Lord Voldemort's eyes narrowed, and he pushed the man off of him. "I would have expected better of a Gryffindor. Avada Kedavra!"

A beam of green light shot from Lord Voldemort's wand, hitting Peter in the chest and killing him instantly. Peter fell into a heap on the ground where he kneeled at Voldemort's feet.

The man sneered, and nudged his former follower's body with one foot, putting his wand back into his cloak. "Pathetic."

The cloaked man entered the house, but left the door wide open. He strode purposefully towards the nursery, where he could hear a child wailing. The closer he got to the room, the louder the wailing became.

The wailing came from a dark yellow room where the nursery was kept. The Dark Lord paused at the doorway for a moment before entering the room. He came to a stop in front of the older twin, Roscoe. He eyed the wailing child before a low growling caught his attention. Eyes flashing and teeth bared, a small black and cream bundle of fluff growled at him menacingly, placing itself between him and the crib.

Lord Voldemort simply laughed, ignoring the sound of picture frames falling to the ground as someone knocked them down in their rush to get to the nursery. He withdrew his wand.

Thanos promptly went berserk, launching himself at the Dark Lord and barking madly. The sounds of an approaching person increased in speed.

The Dark Lord wrenched the dog off of him, sending it flying through the air.

"Avada Kedavra!" As soon as he uttered the last syllable of the spell, something plowed into him, causing his wand to turn at the last minute and shooting the beam of green light away from Roscoe. Instead, it passed Thanos's flying body, grazing up against his fur only and leaving the cursed fur black and shriveled. The curse continued on and hit young Harry on the chest, directly over the heart.

Harry's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor of his crib, limp.

* * *

"Turn this car around, James, turn it back right now!" Lily screamed.

James's arm on the wheel jerked involuntarily and he narrowly avoided an accident with an oncoming semi. "What's wrong?" He glanced over, and saw Lily clutching the emerald on her necklace.

She turned worried eyes to her husband. "Turn around now, James."

"But—"

"Do it!" she screamed.

James obediently turned the car around and started to drive home.

"What's wrong Lily?" he asked, growing worried despite himself.

"There's always been this…legend…in my family on my mother's side, about eight emeralds passed on from generation to generation. It is said each emerald has the ability to detect a family member in danger. If the threat is small, the emeralds will glow. If the threat is moderate, the emeralds will heat up slightly. If the threat is high, the emeralds will become unbearably hot to the touch and glow even brighter. If the family member is killed by the threat, then the emeralds turn black. I was given my emerald necklace when I was ten, and Petunia was given a pair of emerald earrings when she was also ten. My mother wore her emerald bracelet until her death, and it was placed in our vault. Never have the emeralds shown any change, not even when Voldemort murdered my parents, but around the time of Harry and Roscoe's birth, my emerald seemed to glow a little brighter. When I put on my necklace today, it seemed warm to the touch…and right before I told you to turn the car around, my emerald burned me."

Lily moved the hand clutching her emerald to show James a bright red burn on her skin the same shape and size as the emerald.

She turned sad eyes to James. "And shortly before the car turned around…James, my emerald is black."

* * *

A loud roar echoed throughout the nursery. Lord Voldemort brought his wand up to fire at his opponent when Thanos leapt up and snatched his wand out of his hand, snapping it into pieces. The little Keeshond barked at him angrily, splinters spraying from his mouth.

While Lord Voldemort was distracted, Harry's body began to glow a shining silver. The glow slowly grew in intensity.

Lord Voldemort was wandless. However, he was not weaponless. Thanos leapt at him and promptly yelped, a silver-handled dagger embedded in his side. The little dog wheezed, and fell to the ground dead. Lord Voldemort wrenched his dagger from the Keeshond's cooling corpse, and turned to face his other opponent.

Harry's silver glow began to increase even more, seeping out through the nursery's window.

Lord Voldemort kicked Thanos's body to the side and hefted his dagger expertly, preparing to throw it at his adversary.

Harry's body arched off of the floor of the crib.

Lord Voldemort drew his arm back.

A silver light erupted from Harry's body, filling the house and leaking into the night sky. When it struck Voldemort, he screamed and his body began to emit a black steam. His body withered and crumbled to dust, his cloak and robes falling around a scorch mark that was the only sign of Voldemort's passing. The silver dagger fell to the floor.

Thanos's body arched off of the carpeted floor, his mouth opening slightly. The light leeched into his body, filling his lungs with air and recirculating his blood. His eyes slowly opened, and his tail wagged weakly.

The creature that had faced off against Lord Voldemort breathed in deeply, its eyes briefly turning an echoing silver before abruptly turning and running out of the house.

Peter's body at the front of the house glowed a brief silver. The light entered his body and black steam leaked from his body, purifying it. His body did not wake. He still lay on the floor, dead.

As the last of the light left Harry's body, he fell limp but his chest was now moving. He was alive, but unconscious.

The light grew brighter and brighter in intensity, increasing Roscoe's wails. The house began to shake, and pieces of the ceiling began to fall to the floor. Cracks splintered the wall and the carpet began to smolder. The crib fell apart, a piece of it falling and striking Roscoe on the head. He fell unconscious.

Thanos stumbled over to Roscoe and began to lick his forehead clean of blood, revealing a cut shaped like a scythe, Death's weapon of choice. Another chunk of ceiling fell, landing on Thanos and pinning him to the floor.

The house continued to fall to pieces over their heads.

* * *

The gas pedal was pressed all the way to the floor, and they were whipping past cars at an unbelievable speed. James whipped the steering wheel hard to the left, and the car let out a screech of protest as it whipped around the corner.

"Oh Merlin," Lily gasped in horror as she caught the first glimpse of the house. Bright silver light could be seen leaking out of the windows and through the door. A dark motionless shape lay in front of the door.

The car squealed to a stop and Lily ripped open her door and ran to the house, James on her heels.

"Peter!" Lily cried as she stumbled over his body. She quickly kneeled and checked his pulse.

"Did he make it?" James asked as he reached her side. Lily shook her head before standing back up and hurrying inside the house towards the nursery.

They quickly fought through the dust and silver light to the nursery, where the light was the brightest. Lily was the one to find Voldemort's robes, dagger, and cloak on the floor. She paled drastically and picked up the dagger, turning it over in her hands briefly before continuing to look for her missing family members. James was searching for his children, sick with panic.

"Did you find them?"

"Not yet, you?"

"No sign of them!"

A soft whine came from a pile of debris near James.

"Lils, I think I found Thanos!" James began to shift the debris, eventually revealing the puppy, whose tail wagged weakly. Next to him lay Roscoe, and Harry lay on the other side of Roscoe.

James grabbed Roscoe and Thanos, while Lily gently picked up Harry. She had left her purse in the car, so she slipped the dagger in his blankets, making sure the blade would not cut him. The group quickly made their way to the exit, the silver light now quickly dissipating.

They stumbled out of the door into the night sky. Lily reached over with one hand and covered Thanos's eyes while James produced his wand and sent a patronus soaring out towards Hogwarts, and another towards the Aurors in the Ministry.

Lily gently placed Harry under a tree, sweeping a lock of hair out of his eyes and settled down next to him. James sat next to her and placed Roscoe next to his brother, cradling Thanos in his lap.

As they watched, their beloved home in Godric's Hollow fell to the ground.

* * *

Dumbledore sat at his desk sucking on a lemon drop, gently petting the head of his phoenix, Fawkes. Before him sat a pile of paperwork, all of it details concerning Voldemort's latest movements. It was a silent night, and all of the students were in bed. Therefore, Dumbledore was quite shocked when a familiar stag patronus leaped into his office through his window.

"Dumbledore…Voldemort…At our home! Peter's dead, our house…destroyed. Come quickly!"

Dumbledore's constantly twinkling eyes stopped twinkling. He quickly raised his wand and sent patroni leaping off to summon the other Hogwarts professors before grabbing Fawkes's talons and flashing to Godric's Hollow.

What Dumbledore saw made him momentarily lose his balance. The Potter house lay in a heap, still shimmering silver slightly. Beside him Fawkes shivered before opening his beak and singing in a manner the Dumbledore had never heard before. It was happier than any of Fawkes's previous songs, more joyful and hopeful.

Unbeknownst to Dumbledore, Fawkes had detected the scent of death and the scent of life at the site of the attack. The silver light still visible buoyed the flame-colored phoenix and filled him with life. The light was a distinguishable sign to all magic creatures, and soon they would all know that one of the dealers of fate had awakened. Fawkes knew, and rejoiced.

Fawkes could smell the dealer of fate, but gave no indication towards it. Dealers of fate were rare, and there was no specific term for them. The name 'dealer of fate' was just one of many names given to them. The line was thought to have died out, after having disappeared so many centuries ago. Wizards had once known of them, but now only a few rare texts even mentioned the dealers of fate. The only ones who knew of the dealers of fate were those with magical creature blood flowing through their veins, and even then most weren't aware of the dealers' existence, just that something powerful once gone is now returned. Fawkes knew that if Dumbledore suspected something even remotely suspicious about the Potter sons, such as rare abilities, then the son in question would be claimed and groomed quicker than you could say 'lumos.'

Fawkes led the way to the Potters, the scent of the last dealer of fate growing ever stronger. Fawkes perched on James's shoulder, tears falling down his face to land on Roscoe's cut. It healed, leaving only a scar in the shape of a scythe.

Dumbledore crouched near the four Potters, their dog, and his phoenix, looking them all over carefully. His eyes widened when he saw the newly healed scar on Roscoe and the odd scorch mark on Thanos.

"Your dog…your dog is the Savior of the Wizarding World!"

James and Lily both gave Dumbledore incredulous looks, while Fawkes gave a phoenix equivalent of a snicker.

"See this scorch mark here?" Dumbledore asked, running one finger over the fur. "This was caused by the Killing Curse. See the scar on your son's forehead? This must be where the Killing Curse struck him. It must have killed him, but Thanos crawled over to his body and used a hitherto unknown type of magic—his love for the boy—to save his life!"

Dumbledore was getting increasingly excited over his theory. "He absorbed it into his body, and expelled it towards Voldemort, killing him instantly. This scorch mark in his fur is where the Killing Curse must have entered his body and this large gash is where it must have left his body. The backlash of the magically-empowered curse caused the house to cave in on itself, and it was pure luck you managed to get them out in time."

James and Lily's expressions were becoming increasingly skeptical. "But Dumbledore, where did the silver light come from?"

"It was the animal's inner magic. All animals living with wizards and witches have some sort of magic; they would never stay otherwise. The charge of magic in the air would terrify any normal creature away in a matter of hours. Thanos' magic must have been released at the same time he expelled the Killing Curse."

The pair still looked skeptical. "But sir, what about Harry? He still hasn't woken up!" cried Lily.

"The charge of magic in the air must have been overwhelming to his system, causing it to overload and force a state of unconsciousness upon his body. He'll be fine. However, I must ask that you send him somewhere else, to Lily's relatives, perhaps?"

"What?!" gasped Lily.

"Why the hell would we do something like that?" demanded James.

Fawkes let out an unhappy-sounding trill.

"Your dog needs training. Obviously, he is the key to Voldemort's defeat. Voldemort may be gone now, but there is always a chance he will return. He was born around the same time as the twins, according to his breeder, correct? And he is a member of your family, which means he is a perfectly valid candidate for the prophecy. However, because Roscoe was hit with the Killing Curse and still bears its scar, he too shall have to be trained for he is also a perfectly valid candidate. I believe it would be best that the boy and dog not be parted, and since the dog is clearly attached to you, I believe it would be best that Roscoe and Thanos stay with you while Harry goes somewhere else in order to not interrupt the training."

"What! That's insane!" Lily spat out.

"We'll never agree, there is no way in hell we are splitting up this family!" James hissed.

"Then I am afraid I have no choice but to force you. Obliviate!"

Thanos growled at the sight of the wand as James and Lily's faces went blank. "You arrived here in time to save Thanos and Roscoe, but Harry had died from a magic overdose received when Thanos's magic flooded the house. I am taking Harry's body to prepare for burial while you grieve and prepare for Thanos and Roscoe's training, for Thanos is the Dog-Who-Lived and Roscoe is the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn. Harry is gone, and he is never coming back. Your youngest son is dead."

There was a short pause and then Lily promptly burst into tears, burying her face into her husband's neck while tears silently flowed down his face. Dumbledore picked up the bundle that was Harry and left the couple in their anguish.

Dumbledore walked a short distance away before apparating outside the Hogwarts grounds.

A pair of eyes watching from the branches of the tree that James, Lily, Roscoe, and Thanos were under narrowed before turning to blink at the phoenix staring up at him. The phoenix blinked back. The two stared at each other until the phoenix gave a tiny nod. The eyes blinked once again, before suddenly turning smug. That blasted old codger would never know what hit him.


	2. The Day After

**Author's Notes: **Supposedly my hints (that I thought were rather obvious) are a lot less obvious than I thought they were, according to my beta, since she didn't manage to figure out the most obvious person (in my opinion) mentioned in the prophecy. Maybe she was having an off day?

* * *

**Dealer of Fate**

**Chapter Two  
The Day After  
**

**November 1, 1981**

**Dog-Who-Lived Defeats You-Know-Who  
by Sciolto Nori**

_On October 31__st__, James and Lily Potter left to attend a Muggle ball around 9 o'clock that night, neither expecting the scene that would greet them on their return fifteen minutes later. They had left their young twins, Harry and Roscoe, 1, and their dog, Thanos, under the watchful eye of Peter Pettigrew, 21, owner of Pettigrew Sweets and Treats in Diagon Alley._

_The facts of that night are unknown, but it is this reporter's belief that Pettigrew, revealed to be the Potters' Secret Keeper, inadvertently informed a member of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters of the Potters' location. You-Know-Who attacked the Potter home shortly after their departure, attacking and killing Pettigrew. After a thorough inspection, it was revealed that Pettigrew did not in fact carry the Dark Mark._

_You-Know-Who then proceeded to the nursery, firing the Killing Curse at young Roscoe Potter, killing him instantly. According to headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore, "In a feat of outstanding loyalty, the family dog Thanos then used his inner magic to transfer the Killing Curse from his master to himself, expelling the curse back towards the caster and killing the Dark Lord instantly. I have never quite heard of anything like this, and it is remarkable. Absolutely remarkable."_

_During the resultant destruction of the house, James and Lily arrived. "It was horrible, absolutely horrible," cries Lily Potter. "There was silver light coming out of the house, and we could see Peter in the doorway. My heart just stopped."_

_The pair rushed into their crumbling house, but it was too late. Harry Potter died on scene from a magic overdose. Roscoe and Thanos were rescued and are currently recovering in St. Mungo's Hospital and St. Mungo's Hospital for Familiars._

_Closed casket visitation for Harry James Potter is November 2__nd__ from 5pm to 7 pm. Funeral services are November 3__rd__ at the Potter Family Plot at 4 pm. Flowers are welcome._

_Visitation for Peter Tradire Pettigrew is November 3__rd__ from 12 pm to 2 pm. Funeral Services are November 4__th__ at the Pettigrew Family Plot at 10 am. Dinner will be served afterwards in the Hogwarts Great Hall._

_For more details, see TRIALS, page 4A, CELEBRATIONS, page 9A, PETTIGREW, page 10B, POTTER, page 10B, CLOSING, page 3C._

* * *

Seduttrice Zabini raised a finely shaped eyebrow as she read the latest Daily Prophet while she nibbled on a piece of buttered toast. 

"Well, well, look at this, Worth, 'Dog-Who-Lived Defeats You-Know-Who'. What a total crock!" she laughed.

Her husband's head shot up, his fork clattering from his hand. "What?!"

"According to this," Lady Zabini gestured toward the Daily Prophet in her hand, "the Potter family dog defeated the Dark Lord." She laughed.

"Are you sure that's what it says?"

"It says, and I quote, 'According to headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore, 'In a feat of outstanding loyalty, the family dog Thanos then used his inner magic to transfer the Killing Curse from his master to himself, expelling the curse back towards the caster and killing the Dark Lord instantly.''"

Lord Zabini beckoned for the paper, and Seduttrice dutifully passed it over. He silently read the article, the only sound the clink of utensils against her plate as Lady Zabini cut up her pancakes.

After he finished it, he slammed the paper down on the table, "Absolute rubbish! It's all hearsay! For all they know, it was the dead Potter brat that defeated him, not the damn dog. A dog! Merlin, what is the Wizarding World coming to?"

Lady Zabini shook her head. "Your guess is as good as mine, dear. And not once do they expect that Pettigrew was in fact the informer."

"What?" Lord Zabini had picked his fork back up from the table, and was now pointing it towards his wife. "Where did you get that idea from?"

Lady Zabini laughed, "Do you honestly believe Peter 'accidentally' told one of the Death Eaters? It's much more plausible that Peter told the Dark Lord himself. And he was a Gryffindor, and therefore more expendable than, say, a Slytherin. Also, this was past your time, but in their fifth year Potter, Pettigrew, Black, and Lupin all developed nicknames for each other. Pettigrew's was, of course, Wormtail. If that doesn't imply 'rat,' then I don't know what does."

Lord Zabini raised an eyebrow. "Dear, that's as solid as the Prophet's claim that a dog defeated the Dark Lord."

"I'm not finished! Did you see his middle name? I doubt anyone really knows what it means, after all, there are not too many Italian-speaking wizards here in England, but his middle name, Tradire, is most certainly Italian. Do you know what it means, dear?"

Lord Zabini smiled indulgently. "Enlighten me."

"Tradire, in Italian, has two meanings, the first of which is 'squeal.'"

"Like a pig?"

"Don't be vulgar, dear. Yes, 'like a pig.' The second meaning, however, is 'betray.'"

"That doesn't mean anything, 'Trice, it's just all coincidence. It would never hold up in court."

"And that…that** rubbish** would?" she demanded.

"Of course it would, dear. Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts; anything he says is taken for cold hard fact, evidence or no. Nothing we or anyone else says could change the public's opinion now that old bat has opened his mouth."

Lady Zabini sighed heavily. "Of all the things he has said over the years, this is the most ridiculous. If that dog truly is the Savior of the Wizarding World, then we are most certainly doomed. I swear to you, Worth, just watch, in eleven years that dog will be attending Hogwarts with our Blaise."

"Now that, my dear, is total rubbish. Dumbledore may be senile, but he's not that senile."

"Mark my words, Worth. In ten years, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will have its first-ever canine student."

Lord Zabini simply huffed and turned his attention back to his paper. A canine attending Hogwarts? Preposterous.

* * *

"Arthur! Arthur, look!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, waving the Daily Prophet around excitedly. "It's You-Know-Who! Arthur, he's—Charlie, put that down right this instant!—he's been—Don't you dare, mister!—he's been defeated!" 

There was a loud explosion from upstairs, and a large cloud of smoke billowed into the kitchen. "What! What was that, Molly?"

A black-colored figure stumbled down the stairs, coughing and waving smoke out of his face, eyes watering. "You-Know-Who's been reheated, you say?"

"Defeated, Arthur, he's been defeated!"

"Mistreated?" he asked, shaking his head, his ears still ringing from the explosion.

"Defeated!"

"Reseeded?"

"Oh for…" Mrs. Weasley leaned over and screamed in his ear. "**DE-FEAT-ED!**"

"Oh. Oh! That's…that's…." Mr. Weasley was speechless.

"I know, isn't it wonderful? He's gone, never to return!"

"But…but how?"

The couple was totally oblivious to the pair of three-year old twins eying their one-year old brother speculatively, an enormous spider in each twin's hand.

"It's in the Prophet! It's too bad though, their son was little Ron's age."

Mr. Weasley frowned at the paper, glancing up briefly. "Aren't there two of them?"

Mrs. Weasley waved his question off, waving her wand and sending the dishes to scrubbing. She bustled off as Arthur read, his eyes growing progressively wider with each word.

"Young Harry's dead? But we saw the Potters just last month!"

"Terrible, isn't it? And Peter! I can't believe Peter's dead!"

Arthur continued to squint at the paper. "A dog defeated him? Are they sure?"

Molly snorted. "Of course they're sure. Dumbledore said it himself and he's never wrong!"

"I don't know, Molly…"

"Ma! Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma!" a young voice suddenly shrilled, screaming wildly.

The couple whipped around in time to see two giggling boys running away while Ron screamed, two large spiders on his face. Tears were streaming down his face, his eyes scrunched tightly shut.

Arthur rushed over to remove the spiders from his son while Molly seethed.

"Fred! George! Get over here right this instant!"

* * *

**You-Know-Who Defeated By Dynghedu Rhoddwr  
by Erimentha Najwa**

_On October 31__st__, You-Know-Who entered the home of James and Lily Potter of Godric's Hollow, not expecting the death that awaited him in the Potter's nursery._

_Parents James and Lily Potter had left to attend a Muggle ball, believed to have been a deception by You-Know-Who to draw them out of the house. The couple left their twin sons Harry and Roscoe, 1, with family friend Peter Pettigrew, 21. Shortly after the couple left, it is believed You-Know-Who attacked the home. Due to lack of spell damage to the Potters' fallen home, it is this reporter's belief that You-Know-Who either tricked Pettigrew into letting him in the house or that Pettigrew knowingly let You-Know-Who into the house._

_Pettigrew was then murdered by You-Know-Who, and it is most likely that the Dark Lord then proceeded to the Potter nursery, where he encountered the last of the dynghedu rhoddwr._

_The dynghedu rhoddwr is not so much a magical creature as it is a highly obscure legend. According to Kaseko Baqer, renowned researcher of magical myths and legends, the dynghedu rhoddwr does in fact exist, but has not been seen in centuries. In fact, it was thought to have died out; however, that is clearly not the case._

_Doctor Baqer says, "Never have I thought to witness the return of the dynghedu rhoddwr. I've only ever encountered vague references to their abilities. All of the books containing a reference to them only mention them in passing, so practically nothing is truly known about them. However, in __Fact or Fiction: Creature or Bloodline?__ it is mentioned briefly that all magical creatures can detect the emergence of a dynghedu rhoddwr. Their emergence is marked by a legendary silver light at their time of death that has unknown effects. However, of the few effects known, among them is the rebirth of the deserving and the exorcism of evil, which may be the reason Pettigrew did not carry a Dark Mark and was not revived. It is my belief that one of the Potter sons is in fact the last of the dynghedu rhoddwr."_

_When asked why young Harry was not revived during the emergence of the dynghedu rhoddwr, Baqer replied, "The emergence of a dynghedu rhoddwr involves very little, if any, additional magic. According to various tomes, the killing blow inflicted on a dynghedu rhoddwr triggers an inner defense mechanism which absorbs the blow, killing the body in the process. The resulting death lets the dynghedu rhoddwr's control over the light to escape, destroying and exorcising the unworthy and bringing the worthy, as well as the dynghedu rhoddwr, back to life. The only magic involved in this process would be the Killing Curse, as the light is just that, light. Harry was a young, innocent child, so the light should have revived him. However, no one has seen a body, so Harry may not be dead after all."_

_Is Harry Potter really dead? If not, then where is he? Is this another cover-up by the Ministry to protect the identity of the dynghedu rhoddwr, or is Dumbledore removing any possible threat to the so-called Dog-Who-Lived and Boy-Who-Was-Reborn?_

_For more details, see COVER-UPS, page 2A, BAQER, page 6A, DUPLICITY, page 10A._

* * *

It was a bright and cheerful day in Diagon Alley. Birds were chirping cheerfully, and people were bustling back and forth, cheering happily and partying in the streets. Shops were jam-packed with customers, and it was overall a very good day for everyone. Well, almost everyone, that is. 

Next to a large newspaper stand, two men were perusing the selection. Their eyes were red, and they both wore utterly depressed expressions on their faces, wincing each time someone ran past exalting the praises of the Dog-Who-Lived and the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn. Both of them had lost a surrogate nephew and godson the night before.

Sirius Black forced himself to look at the magazines, absorbing each headline as it proclaimed the defeat of Voldemort: **Dog-Who-Lived Defeats You-Know-Who**; **You-Know-Who Defeated by a Boy and His Dog**;**You-Know-Who and Two Others Killed in House Collapse**. However, the one headline that caught his attention screamed something completely different: **You-Know-Who Defeated By Dynghedu Rhoddwr**.

Sirius frowned, and glanced over at Remus, who was reading a Daily Prophet. "Moony, what's a dynghedu rhoddwr?"

Remus glanced over at his black-haired friend, frowning. "Since when do you know Welsh?"

"Welsh?"

Remus nodded. "It means 'destine giver.' Why?"

Sirius stared at his friend. "Since when do _you_ know Welsh?"

"Distant cousins. My parents debated sending me off to live with them, and forced me to learn how to speak it."

"Huh. Well, it just says here that one of those killed You-Know-Who," Sirius commented, picking up the newspaper and reading it.

Remus glanced over at the paper he was looking at and sighed. "Sirius, that's the Quibbler. Nothing it ever says is true, and most of the creatures in there don't even exist."

Sirius was ignoring him, deeply absorbed in the paper. He gave a snort, "Hey, Moony, listen to this, 'Due to lack of spell damage to the Potters' fallen home, it is this reporter's belief that You-Know-Who either tricked Pettigrew into letting him in the house or that Pettigrew knowingly let You-Know-Who into the house.' Of course there was no spell damage to the house; it was all rubble! The Aurors even proved Peter wasn't a Death Eater; he had no Dark Mark!"

"What did I tell you?" Remus sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh, it says here, '…it is mentioned briefly that all magical creatures can detect the emergence of a dynghedu rhoddwr. Their emergence is marked by a legendary silver light at their time of death that has unknown effects. However, of the few effects known, among them is the rebirth of the deserving and the exorcism of evil, which may be the reason Pettigrew did not carry a Dark Mark and was not revived' Get any shivers last night, Moony?" Sirius grinned, glancing over at his wide-eyed friend. "…Moony?"

Remus ripped the paper out of Sirius's hands, eyes wildly scanning the article.

Sirius blinked at his normally mild-mannered friend as the werewolf read. That was new. He leaned over his shorter friend and read over his shoulder.

"Now they think Harry's alive? Are they serious? 'The emergence of a dynghedu rhoddwr involves very little, if any, additional magic.' How the hell does that Baqer guy know that? He said so himself it was only mentioned in passing! 'The only magic involved in this process would be the Killing Curse, as the light is just that, light.' Again, how the hell does he know that? For all he knows, it could be compressed pixie dust!"

Remus glanced up briefly. "Compressed pixie dust is what the Hogwarts windows are made out of. It's the wizarding equivalent to Muggle glass. It's a common misconception."

Sirius turned his head slightly to blink at Remus. "Okay, not compressed pixie dust, then. Fairy dust?"

"Too tiny to be seen by a wizard's naked eye. Besides, fairy dust is golden."

"Not fairy dust, then. What is it then?"

Remus glanced over at Sirius briefly. "Light?"

"Hey, you're right! It's light!…Wait a minute…"

Remus simply shook his head, gluing his eyes back to the paper.

"Blah, blah, blah, '…is Dumbledore removing any possible threat to the so-called Dog-Who-Lived and Boy-Who-Was-Reborn?' They cannot be serious. What threat would he pose to them? He's only a kid!"

"Well, Dumbledore was talking about training Roscoe and Thanos…"

"Moony! Don't tell me you believe in this crap! You said so yourself; you said, and I quote, 'Sirius, that's the Quibbler. Nothing it ever says is true, and most of the creatures in there don't even exist.'"

Remus sighed and folded the newspaper, giving the street vendor 5 sickles for it and stuffing it into his jacket as they walked down Diagon Alley. "It raises some very valid points, Padfoot. You have to admit it, this has more evidence to support it than Dumbledore's claim in the Daily Prophet does."

"A few dusty old tomes and some speculation, Moony. I thought you knew better than that."

"That's more support than Dumbledore has, Padfoot. Dumbledore doesn't have one dusty old tome to support his statements, let alone a few."

"Moony, James and Lily saw Harry's body. They saw it! You can't be saying they lied, can you?"

Remus sighed. "Of course not, Padfoot. But we're wizards. We're not Muggles."

Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, gaping at Remus. "Are you…you can't be saying that Dumbledore cast a memory charm on them!"

"I'm not saying he didn't."

"But what about that Welsh thing? That dingle-doo rod-ware thing? You can't possibly believe that!"

Remus turned around to stare at Sirius. "I felt something last night, Padfoot. Something's returned, something that was gone for a very long time. Whatever it is, it's back. I don't know if it's this dynghedu rhoddwr thing or not, but it's powerful. What I do know is, change is coming."

Sirius bristled. "What, you get some prickles down your spine and you're going to go hide until this change comes over?"

"Of course not. When did I say the change would a bad thing? It's not, Padfoot. Whatever's coming, it's good. Very good. And I can't wait."

Sirius blinked at Remus in disbelief, before jogging up next to his old friend again. "So, Moony, tell me about these changes…"

* * *

Alastor Moody settled into his desk at the Auror headquarters, his magical eye roaming around the office. Glancing around warily, he produced a copy of the Quibbler, rubbing it between his fingers to test the ink and then leaning in and sniffing the paper. He let his eye rove over it, looking for any hidden messages on the paper. Satisfied, he began to read. 

As he read further, he frowned. The Aurors in the office, who normally tended to avoid his desk, stayed even farther away than usual.

His mouth formed the words as he read: "dynghedu rhoddwr," "magical creatures," "detect," "silver light," "revive," "may not be dead," "cover-up," "possible threat"…

As he reached the end of the article, he loudly slapped the paper down onto the desk, his mind turning the article around in his head.

As he watched the hustle and bustle of Aurors, he frowned even deeper. He had noticed more and more magical creatures visiting headquarters that day, and several other Aurors were loudly complaining about magical creatures calling in just because they had the shivers.

There was a connection, Mad Eye was sure of it. Maybe that tabloid was actually right for once. In that case, it would be best if he kept an eye on Dumbledore. Just in case.

* * *

The fire crackled loudly as Professor Trelawney read the Quibbler. She had no classes at the moment, and her crystal ball had shown her an image of herself sitting in that very room, reading the Quibbler. The professor had noticed the paper lying in the room after her Hufflepuff-Gryffindor 4th year Divination class, so she had picked it up. The headline had caught her eye, and she had sat down to read. 

It was full of all sorts of interesting information. This dynghedu rhoddwr thing was of particular interest. She had never quite heard of someone being reborn, but the fact that You-Know-Who had possibly been exorcised? It was fascinating.

Sybill Trelawney never read a newspaper, and never went down to the Great Hall to dine. Professor Dumbledore had called all of the teachers down that morning to relate the news, and of all of the teachers, Professor Snape was the only one to remain unmoved. Poppy Pomfrey had acted nervous however, and as soon as Dumbledore had finished his announcement she had quickly returned to her infirmary. Therefore, despite her lack of interaction with others, Professor Trelawney was quite aware that the Quibbler contradicted Dumbledore extensively.

Frankly, the professor didn't care. Her horoscope for that morning had read, "Be prepared for change. Do not be hesitant to rely on your instincts." Well, her instincts were screaming that Dumbledore was wrong, and the Quibbler, while not necessarily right, was not wrong either.

She placed the paper down next to her crystal ball and rose to retrieve a teacup in order to pour herself some tea. She found a blue floral patterned teacup and was halfway across the room when it suddenly fell from her hand, shattering into pieces on the floor while she stood stock-still.

"_The Lord of Darkness is gone, fallen to the son of kings. Hidden shall the prince stay, betrayed shall the prince become. Forgotten by his family, he shall return to herald the Age of Dragons. Forsaken by his adoptive family, he shall return to dispense justice. The prince's brother shall hinder his return and the one reborn shall join the prince in ushering in the dawn of a new era. Only through the meddler shall the prince fail, and only through the remorseful dog shall he succeed. The dreaming Cassandra shall be the key..._"

She shook her head, shaking herself out of her sudden trance. "Maybe I should go see Poppy, I don't seem to be feeling very well all of a sudden," she mused, waving her wand to vanish the shattered teacup.

* * *

Two students peered at Sybill Trelawney from a space between the floor and the trapdoor leading to her classroom as she puttered around, retrieving a new teacup. 

"Did you see that?" whispered the redhead to the brunette next to him.

"Who cares? Let's get out of here, we're going to be late for Transfiguration, provided we actually find the classroom," quietly whispered his companion.

"We're first years, the professors will be lenient on us for the first few days. Well, that's what my dad said, anyways. Besides, I think she just made a prophecy!"

"You can't possibly believe that; everyone knows she's a complete phony. She was probably just practicing. Come on, let's go!"

The brunette grabbed the other boy's hand and began to pull him down and away from Trelawney's tower. The redhead continued to stare as he was pulled away.

"_Bill? Bill!"_

Bill Weasley turned to look at his companion.

"_Bill!"_

The voice was coming out of nowhere. His friend was nowhere to be seen, having dissolved into thin air.

"_Bill! Bill, wake up! Bill!"_

Bill jumped awake as something shook him, and he blearily opened his eyes to see his younger brother Charlie staring down at him.

"Mum's calling; dinner's ready. Are you okay? You fell asleep in the goblin grass."

Bill yawned and blinked tiredly. "What? Goblin grass? Quit kidding around, Charlie."

"I'm serious. Bill, look around."

Bill jumped as he realized the prickly grey plant surrounded him. How he hadn't realized he was napping in the extremely uncomfortable plant was beyond him.

"What were you dreaming about, anyways?"

"I…I think Trelawney had a prophecy."

"Who?"

"Trelawney, Hogwart's Divination teacher."

"How do you know who the Divinations teacher is? Neither Mum or Dad have said anything about any of the teachers."

Bill blinked in surprise as he realized Charlie was correct. But then, how did he know who Sybill Trelawney was?

Bill contemplated his dream as he followed Charlie to the Burrow. The prophecy would stay within his mind for years to come, never forgotten. It would be quite some time before he dreamed again.

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey contemplated the young boy lying in her infirmary. The only oddity she had been able to find on him was a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his chest. What was really odd about the scar, however, was the fact that it was covered by a tattoo of a flame-covered sword. He was way too young to have a tattoo, yet it was no normal wizarding or Muggle tattoo. The flames were warm to the touch; she had cut her finger on the sword's blade. Both the scar and the tattoo were new, neither having been there during Harry's last examination just weeks before. She would have noticed. 

She had found an odd silver dagger in his blankets. It was engraved with dragons and griffins in flight, and the initials AP. It was extremely sharp and of a very good quality. She had never seen anything quite like it. When Ollivander had flooed in to look at it, it had left him speechless.

All Ollivander would say was, "In the same manner that a wand chooses a master, this dagger has also chosen a master. He is destined for great things, impossible things. However, I am afraid this master is not destined for the life he is being forced into by Dumbledore. Heed my words, this one will not stay in his chosen home long, if at all."

With that, Ollivander had left, leaving Madam Pomfrey to ponder how he had known who the master was, let alone the fate Dumbledore was most assuredly planning for the boy. She had then concealed the dagger back with the boy, making sure it would not cut him. It was not her desire to remove a magical object from its chosen master.

Young Harry Potter broke her heart. Thought dead, taken from his parents, and soon to disappear for good. How she wished things could be different. Maybe she could sneak him out of the castle; Rosmerta owed her a favor and Arabella had once confided in her that she regretted the fact she had never had a child of her own. Perhaps…

"Poppy? How's our young patient doing?"

Madam Pomfrey forced herself to smile, turning to greet the headmaster only to discover a wand in her face.

"Obliviate!"

Madam Pomfrey's face went blank, her mind swept clean of all thoughts of deception.

"You had a patient, Poppy, a rather young patient. Death Eaters killed his parents the day of the Dark Lord's defeat and you agreed to take care of him until a home for him could be found. He is now living quite happily with his grandfather."

Madam Pomfrey blinked and smiled, bustling over to remake the infirmary beds.

Dumbledore carefully picked up Harry Potter from where he lay, blankets, dagger, and all, quickly entering Poppy's office before the healer could notice.

He grabbed a pinch of floo powder from the nearby canister and threw it into the fireplace, shouting, "The Sanctum!" as he stepped into the fire.

* * *

Argus Filch had been enjoying a rare day off in the company of Mrs. Norris at home when his fireplace suddenly blazed and Dumbledore stepped out with a bundle of blankets. 

"Headmaster."

"Argus. I have a job for you."

Argus Filch's eyes lit up. "A job, sir?"

"I want you to take care of this child, Argus. I would prefer that he never hear of the Wizarding World."

Argus Filch gaped at Dumbledore as he was handed the bundle of blankets.

"What—! I'm no nursemaid!" Filch yelled as Professor Dumbledore reentered the fireplace, his eyes twinkling merrily.

Filch glared down at the ebony-haired child in his arms. "I do not have time for such…nuisances. You will have to go."

The child yawned tiredly and cuddled into Filch's chest.

Argus Filch twitched. "Absolutely not!" He placed Harry down on a nearby chair and entered the kitchen, grumbling all the while.

Mrs. Norris jumped up on the chair next to Harry, sniffing him curiously before purring and nudging him with her head. She proceeded to curl up next to him and give his hair a tongue bath.

Mrs. Norris could hear her master clattering around in the food-place, muttering about "little ingrates" and "fool headmasters."

The clattering of her master almost drowned out the sound of a large creature jumping down the chimney and landing with a dull _whump_ in the fireplace.

Soot filled the room, Mrs. Norris yowled, and by the time Argus Filch had arrived and the air had cleared, Harry was gone. Mrs. Norris let out a pitiful mew and curled up in the space Harry had previously occupied. He had only been there for a few minutes, but she had still managed to grow attached to him in a short amount of time.

As for Argus Filch, well, he figured that what the headmaster didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

Avye Amani jumped as she heard a soft wail at her door. She lived in a small cottage near the Gate to the Universe. She was the Gatekeeper, which means nothing goes in or out of the Gate, no matter what. If the Gate to the Universe were to be opened, it would result in the destruction of the universe because the universe is not meant to open upon itself. Therefore, why, exactly, the Gate to the Universe even existed was a puzzle. 

The Gate to the Universe was situated in the middle of Avye's garden, where the plants were quite different from the normal variety, both wizarding and Muggle. The center of the flowers glowed like little stars, and every once in a while one of the plants became miniature black holes, sucking in everything within a 12-centimeter radius.

Avye's garden, and by default her cottage, was situated on the edge of a little town in England called Savita. It was a nice little town, all things considered. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew everyone's business. If something happened, it took only ten minutes for the entire town to know.

Within twenty minutes driving distance was a slightly larger town called Materia. Both Savita and Materia were predominantly wizarding communities, but they tended to keep to themselves. No one but the Gatekeeper, her adoptive children, and the Worldkeepers were aware of the Gate's existence. The Gatekeeper knew because she was the Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper's children knew because, even though they weren't of her flesh, they were her apprentices and one of them was destined for the position of Gatekeeper after Avye passed on. The Worldkeepers knew because it was their duty to protect the world, the Gatekeeper, and the Gatekeeper's children from those who would seek to seize the Gate.

Avye only had one child when the day began; by the time it ended she would have two.

The wail at her door continued as Avye slowly approached the door. Her adoptive son Wylie Amani wandered in from the back of the cottage.

Wylie was about four years old, with shoulder-length dark red hair and captivating blue eyes. His hair was currently tied back with a hair tie. "Mum? Whassat?" he asked tiredly.

Avye smiled at her son. "I was just about to find out, sweetie. Stay right there, okay?"

He nodded, and stayed in the doorway he had just come through.

Avye cautiously approached the door, stave in hand. She nudged the door open before suddenly slamming the door open, ready to cast a spell or beam her opponent over the head, whichever was faster.

However, that's when she realized there was no one there. She looked around in confusion, before hearing a quiet whimper down near her feet. She looked down, and brown eyes met earth-shattering green.

"Awww," she cooed, bending down to pick up the little boy. "What are you doing here, hmm? Doorsteps are not places for little children, sweetie." She turned around; she had Harry cradled in her arm while she closed the door behind her. She gently placed him on the table and began to remove the blanket he was swaddled in when the dagger fell out with a clatter.

"What—? What's this?" she asked out loud, picking up the dagger and examining it. Wylie slowly approached the table and peered at the little boy.

"Can we keep him, Mum? He belongs here."

Avye glanced up at her son. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, I can just tell," Wylie shrugged.

"Huh. Well, Wylie, we'll have to run him by Healer Jase, but otherwise it would only take a quick visit with Mr. Reeves to adopt him."

"Really?"

Avye smiled. "Really. Listen, why don't you name him?"

Wylie's face lit up in excitement. "How about…Tavor Mael Amani?"

"Hmm…Unfortunate prince? Tavor Mael…It does have a ring to it, doesn't it?"

Avye smiled and picked up the newly christened Tavor, placing the dagger up on the fireplace mantle. She would keep that for now, and give it to Tavor when he was old enough to learn how to use it. If it was as she suspected, 'unfortunate prince' was a more fitting name than young Wylie realized.

* * *

Petunia was feeding young Dudderkins when it arrived. 'It' was a large reddish-brown owl carrying a letter. Petunia promptly dropped the pot she was holding, causing Dudley to start crying at the sudden noise. He was a very sensitive child, and even the softest sounds hurt his ears. 

Petunia removed the letter from the owl's leg and started to read the tear-splattered letter.

_Dear Petunia,_

_It's me, Lily. Remember me? Little sister? Not so little anymore, am I? It's been a couple of years since I've seen you. I invited you to my wedding, but you and your husband never attended. I miss you, you know._

_I wish I was writing this letter under different circumstances, but I'm afraid that that time has passed. You remember the Dark Wizard that was terrorizing the Wizarding World during the later years of my schooling? The wizard that killed our parents? He's gone, but he took our son and our home with him._

_Harry was only one year old, Petunia. He was just a few days younger than Dudley, I understand. But we were lured out of our house, and while we were gone Voldemort attacked. He was destroyed, but there was too much magic in the house. My son died from a fatal magic overdose, an extremely rare condition affecting only a few wizards. Different wizards can withstand different amounts of magic for different periods of time. James and I arrived shortly after the attack, but we were still too late._

_The reason I am writing you this letter, Petunia, is to ask if we can stay in your house for a few days, until the funeral is over. We'll leave the day after the funeral. We would stay in James's family home, but that is where the funeral will be held and we don't want to stay there while our baby is still being buried._

_There will be four of us; my husband, James; Harry's twin, Roscoe; our dog, Thanos; and myself. We can stay to one part of the house, and my husband has agreed to keep the magic down during our stay._

_The owl has been told to wait for a reply. We await your decision._

_Love,_

_Lily_

Petunia stared at the letter, and then looked over at her Dudley. Dudley was giggling and gently stroking the owl's feathers happily. She couldn't imagine losing her Dudderkins, and her sister had just lost her own son, who was even younger than her Dudderkins. Petunia felt love and sympathy swelling inside her, and she made her decision.

Vernon was not going to be happy about this…

_Dear Lily…_


	3. Family Bonds

**Some quick information: **Headmistress Pelindrake is based off of Tanya Huff's wizard Arra Pelindrake from book one of the Smoke Trilogy. Headmistress Pelindrake will make several other minor appearances.

Also, keep your eyes open for some minor historical references.

* * *

**Dealer of Fate**

**Chapter Three  
Family Bonds**

**November 1, 1981**

_Dear Lily,_

_I miss you too, Lily. I'm sorry I was unable to attend your wedding, but I never received an invitation. Are you sure you sent one?_

_Oh, Lils, that is absolutely horrible. To lose your son at such an age must be devastating. I have no idea how I would react if it were my Dudders who died. The Dark Lord may be dead, but that does not excuse the fact that a young life was taken as a result of his defeat. _

_You and your family are welcome to stay in our house as long as you wish. I have yet to talk to Vernon about it, but rest assured I __will__ make sure he agrees. You are welcome anywhere in the house, and the use of magic is fine. However, just make sure Vernon is not aware of it._

_I've always been aware of my jealousy towards you and your use of magic. It wasn't until the events of the last few years that I realized that as a witch you have more problems and suffer from more heartbreak than those of us who are…what are we again? Muggles? The Wizarding World has more problems than the non-Wizarding World ever will. As such, I believe I am now grateful that I was never given such a burden. It may be better to live in ignorance than to live enlightened and in constant fear._

_When are you arriving? I shall have to prepare our guest bedroom, and maybe create some space in Dudley's bedroom for Roscoe. Is your dog housebroken?_

_I can't wait to see you again, Lily. Perhaps we can mend the bridges that were burned as a result of my petty jealousy._

_Love,_

_Petunia_

* * *

The door to Number 4 Privet Drive slammed open, revealing a rather large man with black hair and a bushy moustache. The noise promptly startled Dudley, playing in the spare bedroom while Petunia cleaned, and he began to wail.

"Pet! I'm home! I swear the freaks are out today. Men in dresses, women in violently colored dresses, owls flying all over the damned place. It's a circus out there," Vernon yelled upstairs as he took off his coat.

"They're celebrating, Vernon," Petunia's voice wafted down from the second floor.

Vernon rolled his eyes as he removed his work boots. "That much is obvious, Pet. But why do they have to take their celebrating to the streets? Why can't they stay holed up at home away from us normal folk?"

"They're happy, Vernon, let them celebrate in peace."

Vernon's bushy moustache twitched, and he began to ascend the stairs to the second floor.

"Why are you taking their side in this, Pet? You know as well as I do that the only good freak is a dead freak."

"Vernon!" Petunia ran out of the spare bedroom, staring at her husband in horror. "How dare you?! I doubt you've forgotten that I'm related to one of those so-called 'freaks!'"

Vernon winced. "But…but Pet, it's never bothered you before."

"No, it hasn't! But I am putting my foot down right now, you hear me Vernon? One more derogatory comment and you are **out**, understood?" she demanded, pointing her feather duster at him threateningly.

Vernon cowered. Anything, anything but that! How would he eat?! What would his coworkers say? What would his **boss** say? "I understand. Pet. No more slandering of the freaks."

"Vernon…" Petunia said warningly.

"Fine, fine, I'm sure the people and animals outside are perfectly decent, normal people and animals enjoying the beautiful day. Happy now?"

"Perfectly," Petunia huffed and strode back into the spare bedroom.

Vernon followed her in, blinking as he took in all the cleaning products and the pile of sheets waiting to be put on the bed. Dudley sat in a corner, happily playing with a stuffed teddy bear. Petunia was in the closet, removing spare clothing that had been put in there for storage.

Now that he was really looking at her, Vernon could see a smear of dust on her left cheek. Her hair was put up in a messy ponytail, and strands of hair were coming undone. She was dressed in a grungy, paint-splattered top and a holey pair of blue jeans. She was covered head to toe in dust and dirt, and smelled strongly of lemons.

Vernon blinked. It wasn't very often that Petunia dressed down, even to clean. And of all places to clean, why the spare bedroom? "Petunia, what are you doing?"

Petunia glanced over at him. "I'm cleaning, Vernon."

"I can see that, Pet, but why?"

"We're having guests for an unknown period of time, Vernon. My sister and her family are coming to stay with us because they've just lost their house and one of their sons. They have another house they could stay in, but that is where their son is being buried and they don't want to be around until after the funeral. They will need time to adjust, as well as time to clean out the house. You will be on your best behavior around them, Vernon, understood?"

It took Vernon a few seconds to process this information; once he had, he began to turn an unhealthy purple color.

"What? Absolutely not! I don't care if she's the Queen herself, no freak relative of yours is going to step foot in our house, not as long as I live here!" Vernon blustered.

The sound of knocking on the front door was drowned out by Vernon's words.

"Vernon, it's only for a few days! For God's sake, Vernon, one of their children **died**! He was only a few days younger than our Dudley!" Petunia cried in horror.

Vernon's face deepened in color, and he began to sputter in rage. "Then good riddance, the world needs less freaks in the world! The sooner we realize that and start to exterminate them, the sooner we can resume life in our normal world without fear of their…their freakishness!"

The three Muggles were oblivious to the opening of the front door as things began to come to a head.

* * *

Lily Potter looked over at Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling madly at her. The remains of the Potter family, Dumbledore, and Fawkes were gathered in the Headmaster's Office at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Fawkes was perched on the back of a nearby chair, chirping madly at them. Fawkes's eyes glinted brightly in the remaining light of the day. His feathers reflected the light, bouncing it back and making him appear more fiery than usual. He appeared to be crafted from the element he symbolized, a living bird of fire. That night, he didn't just symbolize fire; that night, Fawkes was fire. That night, an event that hadn't happened in five centuries would occur, and an ancient prophecy would be set into motion.

"Thank you for your help, Dumbledore," said Lily with a watery smile. "You have no idea what it's like, having to bury your child after one year of life. I can only hope Roscoe can grow up to be the man Harry was destined to be."

James nodded, his eyes glued to the only remaining mementos of Harry's short life: a dusty black dog plush and a well-worn gray wolf plush. Those were the only items they had managed to scavenge from the rubble of Godric's Hollow after its collapse. Tears slowly slid down his face as he remembered how little Harry loved those two toys, always cuddling up with them. The only times he'd let "Mooey" and "Pa'foo" leave his sight was when he was asleep or when their namesakes, Moony and Padfoot, were around. Where Harry had once filled his heart was a large aching hole, never to reheal.

Dumbledore nodded sadly, his lips curling into an invisible smile. Those fools would never realize his duplicity until it was too late. Harry would grow up with Argus, never to know the world of magic. If the boy did develop magic, then he would never gain his education at Hogwarts. There was too much at risk to let that happen. No, if the boy did indeed have magic, then he would have to attend school somewhere else or not at all. As it was, Argus will probably never let the boy attend magic school, anyway. His pride would be too damaged if he were to allow Harry to achieve what he never had.

"You're very welcome, Lily, James," he sighed, feigning sadness. "It is too bad we had to lose a bright light such as Harry, but we must move on and let the dead rest in peace; he would have wanted that much, I am sure."

Lily burst into tears. "How do you know what he would have wanted?" she raged. "He was only one year old, Albus! One year old! What he would have wanted would be to live, to play w-with Mooey and Pa'foo, to become a strong and independent young man! No, he would not want us to wallow, and we won't! But we won't let his death slide over us like water on a seabird!" Lily let out a sob and buried her face into James's chest, her arms tightly gripping Roscoe, fast asleep.

Well, shit. "You are absolutely correct, Lily; I did not mean for you to take my words like that. Forgive an old man his folly, my dear," Dumbledore replied in an attempt to smooth things over with the fiery redhead.

James gave Dumbledore a watery smile. "It's okay, sir. It's just hit her, us, hard. She blames herself for his death, and it'll take us some time to cope with his loss. If you'll excuse us, sir, we must be going. Lily's sister has agreed to take us in until after the funeral."

"Of course, my boy. I assume I'll be seeing you at young Harry's funeral, then? Remember, I'll be dropping by Potter Manor as soon as you move in to arrange the details of Thanos and Roscoe's training."

James nodded. He let out a sharp whistle and Thanos jumped onto Dumbledore's chair before leaping onto the man's desk. Papers flew out from under the young dog's paws, and he let out a yelp as he slid off the table onto the floor. James let out a painful grin, and scooped Thanos up under his right arm; the other arm was holding Lily close to him with Mooey and Pa'foo squished between it and Lily.

James nodded to the older man, who took a nearby robe off of a cloak rack. Dumbledore pointed his wand at it, muttering, "Portus." The robe glowed for a brief instant before returning to its previous state. Dumbledore then took the robe and carefully placed it on the four remaining members of the Potter family.

"The activation password is 'Bell, book, and candle.'"

Lily's head jerked up to stare at Dumbledore, but it was too late.

"Bell, book, and candle," James repeated. And they were gone.

Fawkes let out one loud, ear-splitting trill, and vanished in a cloud of flame.

Dumbledore stumbled against the wall as he felt a sudden emptiness in his heart; the presence that had been in his mind since before Grindelwald's defeat suddenly vanished. His face turned a deathly pale as he turned to stare at the space his phoenix had once occupied. Fawkes…Fawkes was gone. Somehow, Dumbledore knew that Fawkes's disappearance was not temporary, and he had no idea what had happened.

He stared at his soot-darkened chair, long-forgotten memories pushing to the front of his mind. He hadn't looked at the book in years, but now its words were reformulating themselves in his mind.

"…_if a phoenix finds a potential being suitable, it will then bond with that individual for life. That individual could be of any race: werewolf, wizard, Muggle, centaur, the list goes on. As a result of the bond, the bonded individual will receive a lengthened life span, good fortune, and an abundance of happiness. _

_Each phoenix's individual personality and species traits determine the compatibility of each potential bonded. If, after a bond has occurred, the bonded becomes corrupt and no longer qualifies for the phoenix's bond, then the bond shall be torn asunder._

_Beware of destroying a bond, for once a bond has been formed, never can another one take its place, nor can it be repaired. The bonded shall forever feel an empty space in both the heart and the mind where the bond once existed._

_After a bond has been destroyed, the bonded individual shall lose all benefits gained from the bond. The average bonded individual only lives twenty more years after the bond has been destroyed, and that individual shall be plagued with bad luck for the rest of his or her life. Never shall the bonded feel true happiness again._

_Only rarely does a phoenix end the bond, and the only way a bond can be removed is if the phoenix in question desires it. This phenomenon has only happened five times in known history; the last time a phoenix destroyed its familiar bond was in 1512. Dissention between a phoenix and its bonded can happen upon occasion, but for the matter to result in the destruction of the bond almost always heralds a significant event._

_In fact, the renowned Seer…"_

Dumbledore's memory failed there. The book he had read years and years ago, when he had first bondedwith Fawkes was put into his bookshelf long ago. That bookshelf had not been touched in years, for most of the books had long ago served their purpose.

Dumbledore straightened himself up, and strode over to former Headmaster Dippet's portrait. "Ochus Bochus."

Dippet nodded to Dumbledore, and the portrait swung open to reveal a large library. Dumbledore stepped through the portrait hole and headed to the row on the far left, where many of his books that he no longer read were stored.

The headmaster began to run his finger down the row of books, looking for one in particular.

"Duplicity and Sweets: The Art of Tainted Candies…How to Make a Black Sheep White in Three Days or Less…The Hallowed Hallows: History or Fable?…Mating Habits of the Three-Toed Grindylow…"

Dumbledore frowned at that one, but continued to peruse the shelf. "Coping With Loss…The Fellowship of the Ring…King Arthur's Legacy…" At that one, Dumbledore frowned. That was one of Headmaster Dippet's old books, what was it doing on his bookshelf?

Dumbledore took the book off the shelf, and immediately coughed as dust flew up. He waved a hand in the air and peered at the battered leather cover of the book. He cracked open the cover. Dumbledore only had one quick glance at some sort of inscription in the book before it vanished, only to reappear in a wizarding trunk far away.

Dumbledore blinked at his now empty hand. Apparently, that book had been on loan to Headmaster Dippet. But how it had appeared on his bookshelf? All of Dippet's books were one floor up on the right-hand side.

Deciding he must have picked it up one day and mistakenly put it on his bookshelf, Dumbledore returned his attention to the bookshelf in question. "The Pact of Animagi…Aha! The Know-All Guide to Phoenixes!"

Dumbledore quickly removed it from the bookshelf and flipped through to the page where it had mentioned the bonds. It wasn't as he had remembered. Oh, the passage concerning the bonds was there, but the page containing the prophecy was missing.

Dumbledore scowled. The page containing the prophecy—the prophecy about a significant event that may very well pertain to him—was gone, ripped right out of the book. Someone had snuck into the Headmaster's personal library and defaced his property. There was no way to tell how long ago the book had been meddled with—Headmaster Dippet's portrait and anything past that portrait was immune to magic, thanks to a special ward placed there at the very construction of the building.

Dumbledore stormed out of the library, his face a mask of fury. The book lay on the floor of his personal library, forgotten. He slammed the portrait shut and headed to his personal rooms.

"Paintings: 1, Dumbledore: 0," crowed Phineas Nigellus.

His painted visage turned to smirk at Dippet. "Are you ever going to tell him?"

Dippet grinned at Nigellus. "I'm not as stupid as I made myself out to be, Phineas. There's a reason I made Headmaster, after all. No, that boy's too far gone."

One of the earlier headmasters peered down from his frame at the other two headmasters, "Still plotting his demise, hmm? I'm surprised he hasn't realized how someone entered that library."

Yet another former headmaster shook his head. "How that man turned out so great, I'll never know. Hogwarts, A History even mentions that the Headmaster's private library has both a locking and an unlocking password."

Nigellus and Dippet could only exchange smug glances at each other.

"Phineas, do you think we should tell Dumbledore about the little present Thanos left on his chair?"

The other portrait laughed. "I'm sure he can find it on his own."

* * *

As the Portkey transported the Potters to a deserted alley near Privet Drive, the two adult Potters stumbled, James almost falling over into a nearby puddle. As a result, Lily, Roscoe, and Thanos almost lost their balance as well.

"Everyone alright?" James asked, straightening himself up. Lily nodded, and Roscoe continued to sleep in her arms. James looked down at the tuxedo he was still wearing, then at Lily, who was still wearing her red gown and emerald necklace. Over the course of the night, the emerald had slowly regained its original green coloring. Handing the stuffed animals in his hand to Lily, James dug out his wand and waved it.

With a wash of light, the dust that had accumulated on their clothing vanished, leaving the formal clothing looking as good as new. The dust on Roscoe's blanket vanished, leaving it clean as well. The two stuffed animals became less dusty, but still looked much loved by their former owner.

With another flick of his wand, the robe that had served as their Portkey was transfigured into a gold leash, which was clipped onto Thanos's collar. James set Thanos down on the ground, well away from any nearby puddles, and retrieved the stuffed animals from Lily. He then proceeded to shrink the toys and placed them into his pocket, next to their shrunken car.

James offered Lily his free arm, and after a little bit of adjusting of Roscoe's sleeping form, she took it. James helped Lily over the puddle he had almost fallen in, and they walked out of the alley onto a street crowded with people.

Many wizards were out and about, their bright robes and mismatched Muggle clothing holding them apart from any Muggles. Owls flew back and forth overhead, each one weighted down with newspapers, parcels, and letters. The sounds of celebration echoed all around them, while the Muggles tried their best to ignore the sudden influx of oddballs on the typically normal street.

Lily couldn't help but blink in surprise at the amount of people on what she was certain was a usually empty street. James maneuvered her around the people, making sure to keep his head down. After some prompting, Lily ducked her head as well and they hurried out onto an adjacent street. The small family quickly made their way down this next street, turning onto Magnolia Crescent.

Thankfully, Magnolia Crescent was barren of all signs of life. The sounds from the previous streets were still audible, but at a noticeably lower level. James and Lily quickly strode down this street, and after some ten minutes of walking they turned onto Privet Drive.

James, who had never been there before, looked around in horror.

Each house looked exactly the same, except for the numbers marking each house. Every lawn was well manicured and every fence sparkled a bright white. Each property was an exact clone of the next.

"Dear Merlin," James breathed. "Do they have any sense of originality?"

Lily nudged her husband. "Apparently not. Let's go, the sooner we get there, the sooner I can finally get changed out of this dress."

James grinned at her. "Can I help?"

Lily rolled her eyes and groaned. "Is that all you think about?"

"Of course not!" James protested. "It was an innocent question; I didn't mean anything by it. You, on the other hand…"

"James!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he joked.

Lily only sighed. "It's Number 4, James. Keep an eye out for it."

James nodded as they walked down the sidewalk. "There it is," he pointed, his finger singling out another clone-house.

"Remember, James, no magic around Vernon. If you absolutely have to use magic, keep it down to a minimum. Keep on your best behavior. We're lucky Petunia is letting us stay at her house, and I don't want her to regret her decision. I want one of us to keep an eye on Roscoe at all times; I trust Petunia, but I wouldn't trust Vernon as far as I could throw him."

James nodded. "We've gone through this already, Lily. I wouldn't trust him with Roscoe either; he's all we have left."

Lily sniffed and nodded. "Let's get this over with," she said resolutely, and they walked up to the front door.

James lifted up his hand and knocked loudly on the door. There was no answer, so he tried knocking again. There was still no answer, and he turned to Lily, a frown marring his face.

"Maybe they aren't home?" he asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, I'm pretty sure that's Vernon's car. Are you sure you're knocking loud enough?"

James sighed, and pounded on the door again while Lily walked over to the windows and tried to peer in.

"I don't see anyone," she reported, "but the lights are on inside."

"Well, they aren't answering," reported James.

"They must not hear us," Lily reasoned. "See if the door's unlocked."

James raised an eyebrow at his wife, but tried the door, anyway. It opened right up, revealing Vernon's coat on a hook by the door and his work boots lying on a nearby mat.

"Looks like someone's home," commented James.

James and Lily's heads suddenly turned to look at the ceiling as a woman shrieked on the floor above them.

"You**bastard**! You absolute fucking bastard!"

They exchanged looks before suddenly rushing up the stairs. A child began to wail.

"How dare you?!" the woman continued to shriek.

James and Lily quickly followed the woman's voice to an open door. They paused just outside the doorway and stared. Inside a thin woman with a duster was angrily advancing on a very large man who was cowering in a corner. A little boy was on the other side of the room, wailing as tears ran down his face.

"Go, Petunia," breathed Lily. She carefully passed Roscoe over to James and cautiously slid inside the room, hurrying over to the crying Dudley. The other two Dursleys were oblivious to the woman. She scooped him up in her arms, quietly shushing him and trying to calm him down. She quickly snuck back to her husband's side and they watched the fireworks commence.

"He was my nephew, Vernon! **Our** nephew! And you say his death was a good thing?!"

Lily's jaw dropped as James's eyes hardened.

"He was family, Vernon! As much as you hate to admit it, Harry was as much your family as he was mine!"

"So, the thing has a name now?" Vernon sneered. Wrong thing to say.

"Vernon! I will not put up with this! How dare you condone such complete and utter violence?! How dare you slander my family like this?! How dare you wish for the death of all those different from yourself?! What I ever saw in you, I'll never know!" Petunia ranted, jabbing her duster at him with each sentence.

"Pet…Flower…Honeybear of my heart…Be reasonable, I wasn't thinking clearly, is all. Let me make it up to you," Vernon begged, wedged as far away from his wife as he could get in the corner.

"Absolutely not, Vernon. I gave you a chance, and you **blew it**. You were thinking clearly, and you know it. Get out," she breathed.

"W-what?"

"Get out ,Vernon. If you know what is good for you, you will get out and never show your ugly mug around this house again," she said quietly, her voice promising pain if he did not do as she said.

"Pet, please…" Vernon started.

"**Out**!" she roared. Vernon fled, pushing past James and Lily in his haste to get out of there. Petunia walked over to the window and watched as a barefooted Vernon ran out to his car and drove off, tires squealing. As soon as the car was out of sight, Petunia collapsed to the floor, her face in her hands.

"Dear Lord, what have I done?" she moaned.

Lily passed Dudley over to James and rushed over to comfort her sister. James shifted, balancing the now-calm Dudley and the newly awakened Roscoe in his arms. Meanwhile, Thanos was exploring as much of the room as he could while on his rather short leash.

"Oh, Pet, shhh, it'll be okay," comforted Lily, kneeling on the floor next to Petunia. She gathered her sister up in her arms and began to rock her back and forth comfortingly. "He isn't worth it, Pet, you did the right thing. Shhh, it's alright."

Petunia looked up to her sister's worried face. Petunia's face was smeared with tears and her hair was almost completely out of its ponytail. "How do you know?" she whispered heartbrokenly. "How do you know?"

"I know just as I know the sun will rise in the morning and set at night. I know just as I know that there is nothing as beautiful as a mother's love for her child. I know just as I know that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I know just as I know that I shall always love you, no matter what."

Petunia sobbed and hugged her sister tightly. When she next spoke, her voice was muffled.

"I missed you so, so much, Lily. Forgive your sister her petty jealousy."

Lily smiled. "What jealousy?"

Petunia could only grip her sister tighter.

* * *

The moon was barely visible by the time Avye, Wylie, and Tavor Amani finally arrived home. Their tiny car was filled to the brim with all sorts of baby accessories and necessities.

Wylie quickly clambered out of the car and was the first one into the cottage. Avye was a little slower, because she had to take little Tavor out of his car seat and dig out her stave from her bottomless purse.

With Tavor cradled in her left arm, Avye raised her stave high with her right hand and slammed its butt into the ground. Light emerged from the place where her stave had hit the ground and enveloped first the car and then the cottage. By the time the light had cleared, the car was empty and the cottage had gained a room.

Apparently, Wylie had not been the only person in the cottage, for as soon as the light had disappeared a series of surprised yells had come from the cottage. Avye could only raise an eyebrow and when she went to the cottage door she almost fell to the ground laughing.

While she and the boys were gone, the Worldkeepers had stopped by her cottage; upon finding her, Wylie, and the car gone they had apparently decided to wait around for her to return. However, they hadn't expected the cottage to suddenly rearrange itself.

A large muscled man with short white-blond hair and a stern countenance had found himself cramped into a playpen. A short wiry man with short curly brown locks was trying to claw his way out of a pile of toys and stuffed animals. All that was visible of him was one of his arms and a foot. A third man with a perpetual smile on his face and chin-length graying hair was for once not smiling as he tried to get out from under the crib that had suddenly pinned him to the ground.

A well-built woman with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair was staring at her foot in distaste. Somehow her foot had found its way into the training toilet. Meanwhile, a petite woman with long auburn hair was laughing it up from her perch on Tavor's new high chair. Wylie was watching these proceedings with a large grin on his face from where he sat on the table.

"Avye!" screeched the woman whose foot was in the training toilet. "What in the seven worlds is going on?"

Avye took a deep breath of air in an attempt to restrain herself, but she dissolved into laughter once again as soon as she looked back at the disgruntled Worldkeepers.

"I've got a new brother," declared Wylie, since his mother was obviously too busy to formulate a coherent sentence.

"What?!" the woman on the high chair yelped in surprise. She jumped off and rushed over to Avye to peer at the bundle in her arms. A large pair of emerald eyes peered straight back into her sky blue eyes. "Oh, isn't he the cutest thing!" she cooed, taking him from his new mother. "Guys, look!"

The first woman walked over, the training toilet still stuck on her foot. She took one look at Tavor's eyes and melted into a puddle of goo. "Where did he come from?" she asked. "Lia, let me hold 'im."

"Aw, come on, Kee, I never get to hold the little ones," protested Lia.

"Tha's cause you always drop 'em. Now lemme see the little tyke," retorted Kee.

Lia drooped, but handed Tavor over to the larger woman. "So, what's his name?" she asked excitedly.

"Tavor Mael!" said Wylie excitedly. "I named him myself!"

"Oh you did, did you?" laughed the man who had been caught in the playpen. He walked over to stand behind Kee and looked down at Tavor. The man nodded. "It suits him."

Lia let out a shriek as the man who had been drowning in toys pushed her out of the way in his rush to see the newest Amani. Tavor looked at him solemnly before frowning. "Unca Moo?"

Lia collapsed to the floor in tears of laughter. "L-look, Ton, he knows his Uncle Moo!"

The man with the white-blonde hair looked at the newly dubbed 'Uncle Moo.' "How does it feel to be an uncle, Marly?"

"Very funny, Ton," drawled 'Uncle Moo.' "Absolutely hilarious."

Tavor stared at Marly, his bottom lip quivering before suddenly bursting into tears. "Wan' Unca Moo! Wan' Unca Paf! Wan' Mooey! Wan' Pa'foo! Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma!"

"Damnit, Marly, you made the poor kid cry," admonished the third man who had somehow managed to crawl his way out from under the crib.

Kee bounced Tavor up and down trying to get him to calm down. She looked over at Avye worriedly. "Who's this Moo, Paf, Mooey, and Pa'foo?" she asked.

Avye shook her head. "I can only assume Moo and Paf are uncles of some sort. I don't know about Mooey and Pa'foo, but I can only assume they're toys or pets."

Lia spoke up, "Moo and Mooey, and Paf and Pa'foo sound pretty similar."

"If the kid has family, then why did you adopt him?" asked Marly.

"'The kid's' name is Tavor. Use it," admonished Avye. "As for his family, well, Mr. Reeves and Healer Jase were unable to find them."

Ton shook his head sadly. "Tavor's parents must be either Muggles or one of those London wizards. Muggles wouldn't know better and those Londoners only ever bother to register their kids with the London-based Ministry. The fools never stop to think about registering the kids with the different Ministries."

Lia sighed. "That means there's no way to find his parents. The London-based Ministry would never let someone under another Ministry's jurisdiction try to find someone under their jurisdiction, no matter the reason."

Kee sighed. "Damn fools."

"Hear, hear!" added Marly.

"So, how did you find him?" asked the third man.

Avye shrugged. "I heard something scratching on the front door. I grabbed my stave and went outside, but all I found was Tavor, lying on the doorstep with nothing but his blanket, the clothing on his back, and a dagger. It wasn't him scratching on the door though; according to Healer Jase, he's all human. Not one speck of creature blood in his veins."

"A dagger?"

Avye nodded. "It's one fine piece of craftsmanship, Az."

Az looked around. "Can I see it? It might have a clue as to who Tavor's parents are."

She shook her head. "There's a story behind that dagger, Az, and it's not for you, or any of us, to know. The only ones who will ever know the truth behind that dagger are Tavor, the dagger's maker, and any of Tavor or the maker's descendants. All I can tell you is that that dagger is at least two centuries old."

The five Worldkeepers drooped.

"Mum, are you ever going to introduce the Worldkeepers to Tavor?" called Wylie from where he was sitting on the table.

"Yeah, introduce us already, Avye!" encouraged Lia.

Avye chuckled. "Alright, alright." She glanced over at Wylie. "Wylie, get off the table."

"Yes, Mum."

Kee passed Tavor back over to Avye. Avye smiled at her youngest son. "Tavor Mael Amani, these are our Worldkeepers. The woman who was holding you is Worldkeeper Kee. No one knows her real name. The other woman, and the youngest of my Worldkeepers, is Worldkeeper Natalia, or Lia for short," Lia grinned and waved at Tavor, "the living rock is Worldkeeper Carlton, also known as Ton. The man you mistook for Uncle Moo is Worldkeeper Marly. He refuses to tell us his real name as well."

"Damn straight," muttered Marly.

Avye chuckled. "And the oldest of my Worldkeepers, who has protected me ever since I was a young child is Worldkeeper Azurean, or Az."

Az grinned at Tavor and made a funny face. Tavor giggled.

"They are our bodyguards, and will do anything in their power to protect us and the world from destruction. It is their sworn duty."

Lia took her cue, and dropped to kneel before Tavor and Avye, her head bent down.

"I, Worldkeeper Natalia, hereby swear to protect Tavor Mael Amani, adoptive son of Avye Amani and adoptive brother of Wylie Amani to the best of my ability until death do I part. So shall it be done."

Lia held her position, and Marly then dropped down to kneel beside her, head bent down.

"I, Worldkeeper Marly, hereby swear to protect Tavor Mael Amani, adoptive son of Avye Amani and adoptive brother of Wylie Amani to the best of my ability until death do I part. So shall it be done."

The next to kneel was Ton. He bent his head down as well.

"I, Worldkeeper Carlton, hereby swear to protect Tavor Mael Amani, adoptive son of Avye Amani and adoptive brother of Wylie Amani to the best of my ability until death do I part. So shall it be done."

Next was Kee.

"I, Worldkeeper Kee, hereby swear to protect Tavor Mael Amani, adoptive son of Avye Amani and adoptive brother of Wylie Amani to the best of my ability until death do I part. So shall it be done."

Last but not least, Az joined his fellow Worldkeepers in kneeling before Avye and Tavor and bending his head down.

"I, Worldkeeper Azurean, Captain of the Worldkeepers, hereby swear to protect Tavor Mael Amani, adoptive son of Avye Amani and adoptive brother of Wylie Amani to the best of my ability until death do I part. So shall it be done. So shall it be heard. So shall it be sworn."

After Az's final words, all of the Worldkeepers and Tavor pulsed a faint green in acknowledgement of their oath.

The Worldkeepers stood back up and looked down at their new charge. Tavor looked back at them, his eyes shining brighter than ever. He gave them a toothy smile, which was promptly returned by the three men and two women.

Az swooped Tavor into his arms.

"Let us go, my young Tavor, and see what Gatekeeper Avye has found for you. Let us fly!"

Az took off with a madly giggling Tavor, Wylie right on his heels. Lia followed in hot pursuit, and Avye only shook her head with a smile. "Men."

"And Lia," added Kee.

"And Lia."

"What does that make us, dragon livers?" demanded Marly.

Avye smiled at Marly and Ton. "No, that makes you two dragon tails."

She took off with a shriek of laughter, Marly and Ton in hot pursuit. A smiling Kee followed at a more sedate pace.


	4. Life Goes On

**Some quick information:** The Dursley attic is based on a real life attic: my Dad's attic, to be precise. It's not in a closet, but I still hate going up there. Not to mention, it's probably more dangerous than the Dursley attic, now that I think about it…especially since if you walk too far to one end, the floor ends and you'll fall onto concrete in the garage…

In addition, there is a quick _Independence Day _reference from my favorite scene in the movie.

* * *

**Dealer of Fate**

** Chapter Four  
Life Goes On**

**August 21, 1986**

"Mum! Mum, look what I can do!" cried a young boy with bright red hair and sharp hazel eyes. Roscoe Potter, the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn, waved his practice wand around excitedly.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he cried, and the tiny pebble he was holding in his hand rose an inch into the air.

Lily Potter forced a smile onto her face. "That's wonderful, Roscoe! What else did you learn today?"

"I learned about how I became the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn!" Roscoe chirped excitedly. Lily's smile became decidedly brittle.

"Oh, you did? And who taught you this?"

"Grandpa Dumbledore," Roscoe replied innocently.

James walked into the living room, his Auror's robe slung over one arm. "Hey, kiddo," James greeted Roscoe, grabbing his son and hoisting him into the air. At the same time, James leaned over and kissed his wife.

James set Roscoe down and raised an eyebrow at his son. "How many times do we have to tell you, Roscoe, he's Professor Dumbledore or Headmaster Dumbledore. Not Grandpa Dumbledore."

"But Daa-aad," Roscoe protested, "he says I can."

"That doesn't matter, Roscoe," Lily scolded.

Roscoe pouted. "You don't love me like Grandpa Dumbledore loves me," he whined.

Lily and James Potter stared at their only son in horror. "Wha-what makes you say that?" Lily stuttered in shock.

"Grandpa Dumbledore said. He says that you don't want him to see me and you don't like that I'm learning magic. Besides, he's always giving me candy and presents. You don't love me anymore!"

Their jaws dropped.

"Excuse me, I have to go have a word with someone," James grated out angrily as he stalked off in the direction of the floo in the entryway.

Lily leaped at her son and hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Of course we love you, angel. You're all we have left anymore. We're just afraid you'll get hurt. We don't want to lose you like we lost Harry," she sobbed.

Roscoe looked at his mother in confusion. "Mum, who's Harry?" he asked.

"Come here, honey," Lily said, guiding Roscoe to sit next to her on the sofa. "Dumbledore told you about how you became the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn, but not about Harry?"

"He told me about how Thanos became the Dog-Who-Lived and how You-Know-Who was defeated, but he didn't mention anyone else," Roscoe replied, still confused. "Who's Harry?"

"Well, honey, when you were born, you had a twin brother."

"I had a brother?"

"Yes, he had your same birthday and everything. He had the most beautiful green eyes and gorgeous black hair. We loved you both very much, and we got Thanos about eight months after you two were born."

"What happened?" asked Roscoe, very interested in this new story.

"Well, how much did Dumbledore tell you about that Halloween?"

"He said that You-Know-Who killed our babysitter, then me, but Thanos took the Killing Curse from me. Then Thanos ejected the Killing Curse from his body and killed You-Know-Who. Then you came and got me from the house because it was falling apart."

"That's not quite what happened. You see, that night your father and I were lured from the house and we left an old school friend of ours at our home to keep an eye on you and Harry. While we were gone, Voldemort—"

"You said his name!" Roscoe gasped in horror. "You're not supposed to say his name! Only Grandpa Dumbledore is!"

"Headmaster Dumbledore, sweetie. And fear in the name increases the fear in the thing itself. You shouldn't be afraid to say his name. Anyway, while we were gone Voldemort somehow found our house and got inside. He killed Peter—"

"Who's Peter?"

"Our old school friend, sweetie. I thought you said Dumbledore told you this story."

"He did!" protested Roscoe. "He didn't really mention his name or anything."

"I see. Well, Voldemort killed Peter then made his way to your nursery."

"And Harry was there?"

"And Harry was there. When Voldemort went into the nursery, he cast the Killing Curse on you and you died. Then Thanos used his love for you to absorb the Killing Curse that was cast on you and save your life. That's what caused the scar right here," Lily said, pointing to the scar on Roscoe's forehead.

"But what happened to Harry?" asked Roscoe, eyes wide.

"I'm getting there, honey, be patient. Thanos cast the magic out of his body, causing a large gash in his body. Where the curse entered his body is where that funny colored patch of fur is."

"You mean it wasn't always black and shriveled?" asked Roscoe curiously.

"No honey, it wasn't. When the Killing Curse left his body, it hit Voldemort and killed him. But when the curse left Thanos's body, it was powered by Thanos's magic. There was a lot of Thanos's magic in the room, and that magic was too much for Harry to take. Harry died from an overdose of magic."

Roscoe gasped, his eyes wide. "There's such a thing as too much magic?" he asked, scared.

"Yes, but it's really rare. By the time we arrived at the house, Harry was dead and we barely saved you, Harry, and Thanos in time. The fact that you three were alive…We were overjoyed."

"Mum? I thought you said Harry died."

"That's right."

"But, you just said all three of us were alive."

"What? No, no I didn't. You must have heard me wrong. Harry's gone, sweetie, he's been gone for almost five years now."

"Oh." Roscoe was really quiet. "So you do love me?"

"More than Grandpa Dumbledore does, sweetie."

"It's Professor Dumbledore, Mum."

Lily laughed, smiling sadly. "You're right, it isn't Grandpa Dumbledore, is it?"

"Nope! Mum, I'm going to go play with Thanos, okay?"

"Alright, be careful, honey. Make sure one of the house elves is with you at all times."

"Okay, Mum!" Roscoe grinned, and ran off to the Potter Manor grounds.

Lily sighed, and slumped against the sofa. Dumbledore was nothing but a menace, training her dog and son to be cold-blooded killers.

"Oh, Mum?" Roscoe asked suddenly, popping his head back into the living room.

Lily glanced over at her son. "What is it, Roscoe?"

"Is Harry buried in the Potter Family Plot?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Can we go visit him sometime?"

Lily gave Roscoe a watery smile. "Of course. How does tomorrow after lunch sound? We can even bring him flowers."

"Great!" Roscoe grinned at her before ducking back out of the room. She could hear him running down the halls, then the slam of the door as he went outside.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Lily burst into tears. Her poor, poor babies. One was dead; the other was an adult before his time. The last, her beloved Thanos, was a vicious, bloodthirsty animal, nothing like what he used to be five short years ago. If only things could have turned out differently.

But, why in the world had she said that Harry was alive? He was dead; she'd seen his body. Yet…yet, she could also remember carrying Harry out and placing his unconscious, yet living body under the tree. Harry was dead, and nothing could change that fact. But why, oh why, did she have the oddest feeling that something was not quite true?

* * *

James Potter was usually a rather calm, fun-loving prankster. However, he had been placed in Gryffindor for a reason. Renowned for their courage and bravery in the face of adversity, there are usually two qualities pertaining to Gryffindors that are almost always forgotten. The first quality is the Gryffindor's unwavering love, affection, loyalty, and protectiveness towards his or her family. The second quality is their dangerous, explosive tempers. Dumbledore was about to be reminded of that little fact.

James reached into the pot stored on the fireplace's mantle, and drew out a pinch of floo powder. He threw it into the fireplace, calling out, "Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office!"

The fireplace binged and the flames began to swirl around in a mix of greens and reds. "Who's calling?" asked a feminine voice.

"James Potter."

"Your business?"

"This is concerning my son's training."

"Please hold."

James sat and tapped his fingers impatiently on the floor, staring at the fireplace.

"Your floo call has been forwarded. The password is 'Loyalty unto death.'"

The flames stopped swirling, and settled back into a solid green color.

"Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office, loyalty unto death!" James cried as he stuck his head into the flames.

The surrounding room turned slowly turned into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, sucking contentedly on a lemon drop. When Dumbledore saw James's head appear in the fireplace, his face lit up with a smile.

"Ah, James, what a surprise! How's your family?" he asked happily.

James held in the urge to roll his eyes. Surprise, his arse; he never would have received the password if Dumbledore hadn't been aware of who was calling.

James forced himself to smile. "They're fine, sir. Actually, that's the reason I'm calling. My son seems to think that you told him that you love him more than Lily and I do. Is this true?"

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes seemed to falter mid-twinkle. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. You know kids, he was probably just seeking some attention."

"But you did say something," James paused, waiting for Dumbledore to elaborate.

"Ah, yes. You see, I just said that I appreciate the fact that he is so concentrated on his training more than you do."

James's eyes took on a dangerous edge. "Are you saying that we don't appreciate the fact that he is training hard for a fight that may or may not occur, for a fight that may or may not claim the life of our only remaining child?"

"Of course not, my dear boy. I'm talking about this from a teaching perspective," Dumbledore said, trying to fix his mistake. "He's made it farther than most children his age usually would. I was just saying you might not be as appreciative of that fact, seeing as how neither of you come from a teaching background."

"I see," James said. To be truthful, he didn't, but that was Dumbledore's problem. If the man insisted on lying to him, then it was only inevitable that he reaps what he sows.

"Roscoe also told us that you told him how he became the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn," James stated matter-of-factly. He had overheard what Roscoe told Lily before he had entered the living room.

"I determined that it was time for him to know what happened, James. He was curious, so I thought it was in his best interests to tell him what occurred that night."

"And did you forget that we asked to be the ones to tell him that story?"

"I didn't tell him the particulars. I figured that was something best left up to you and Lily."

"So you told him some half-arsed story and left out most of the major details?" James translated.

"Now, I wouldn't say that…After all, I wouldn't really call Harry a major detail…"

On the wall, most of the portraits gasped in horror.

"You bastard!" screamed one.

"A little child! Not a major detail!" roared another.

"I'm disappointed in you, Albus," sighed Dippet.

The portraits continued to rant and rave at Albus as James stared at Dumbledore, eyes wide. "Consider Roscoe and Thanos's training terminated, Albus. You won't be seeing them at Hogwarts anytime soon."

"James!" Dumbledore called quickly, thinking on his feet.

"Albus?"

"Remember that contract we signed, James? By that contract, Thanos is required to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There's no way out of it."

"There's no such contract for Roscoe, Albus," replied James, "and that contract does not state how long Thanos must attend Hogwarts. I'm afraid Thanos will only be attending his first year."

Dumbledore paled. "James, you can't do this! Please reconsider! James!"

"Goodbye, Albus." The fireplace went blank.

Dumbledore simply stared at the fireplace, his eyes unseeing. "What have I done?" he asked himself out loud.

"I believe the question you want to ask yourself, Albus, is 'what haven't I done?'" sniped Nigellus.

Dumbledore ignored the Slytherin, and slowly stood up from his desk, leaving the office and letting the door slowly close behind him.

* * *

High above the rest of the portraits in the Headmaster's Office, right next to the ceiling, four former headmasters and headmistresses were listening in. They all shared the same painting, but it was on the wall, disillusioned. Very few Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses had ever been aware of the painting, and it had been lost, presumed destroyed, ever since the spell had been cast on it.

The painting was set before the lake. The four subjects of the portrait often relaxed under the lone tree in the portrait, or sometimes walked up to the shore of the lake. Today, however, the four magic users were as close to the edge of the painting as they could get, listening in raptly.

The first man was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark red hair and a stern expression. His eyes were like steel, glaring down at the Headmaster's Office with disdain. The second man was short and wiry, with dark black hair that looked almost blue in the right light, bright green eyes, and an easy smile. His eyes were darting about the Headmaster's Office, assessing it from a professional standpoint. The first man wore armor, with a sword at his side while the second man wore no such protection, except for the daggers hidden in various parts of his clothing.

Of the women, the first was thin with wavy brown hair and a quill positioned above her ear. Her eyes were a light hazel, and they were cold as she examined the objects positioned around the room. The second woman was slightly plump, with a matronly look around her. Her hair was a bright golden color that matched the color of her eyes. She was staring, not at the room, but at the various portraits populating it.

Neither women wore armor of any sort; both also appeared to be weaponless. However, if one were to look closely, one would notice that the quill in the first woman's hair had been sharpened to a point unsuitable for writing and that she had various similar quills hidden up her sleeves. Each quill's tip had been anointed with basilisk venom. Also, upon closer inspection, the second woman would be found to have abnormally sharp teeth and sharp claws, as well as a whip disguising itself as a belt wrapped around her waist.

The red-haired man looked at his colleagues. "Thoughts?"

The black-haired man glanced over at him briefly. "Dumbledore is too complacent. He has lost sight of the values and beliefs that were instilled in this school from the very beginning. He never should have been a teacher here, even if he had managed to defeat a Dark Lord. Great accomplishments do not a teacher make."

The first woman sighed. "This office is totally cluttered. Many of the objects here never would have made it through the door if the wards placed on this office were still doing their job. Many of them are extremely dangerous. See that crystal? It's very light-oriented, but if a student were to touch it his soul would be exorcised from his body. Don't even get me started on that candy dish. Also, some of these objects wouldn't be necessary if the wards were still working. There's a magical creature detector, a floo sensor, a spy keeper, and several of those devices are monitoring the amount of magic in the building. There are others, but I can't quite figure out their purpose. I think the lemon drops are laced with a potion of some sort; if I'd have to guess it's a blend of Firewhisky, calming potion, and a few drops of Veritaserum." She grinned at the blonde woman. "I wouldn't be surprised if that magical creature detector's been giving him trouble for years."

The blonde woman grinned back, showing her fangs. "Serves him right. The other headmasters and headmistresses are all against him, even Dippet and Nigellus. Nigellus was a Slytherin and always second-guesses the headmaster, but he was always loyal. Dippet was the headmaster before Dumbledore who maintained the appearance of a bumbling fool but was actually a rather smart, competent wizard. He always supported the man's actions. However, it appears that neither has supported Dumbledore for years now, and the other portraits are of like minds. They too believe that Dumbledore has lost sight of this school's values and beliefs, and, in addition, Dumbledore used to have a phoenix familiar but it broke the bond almost five years ago. The few that were still on his side turned against him the day the phoenix left."

The other three stared at her in shock. "You got all that from listening to the portraits just now."

She shrugged. "Over the years, I got bored. While you three frolicked near the lake or slept, I watched the office. Several years ago, someone broke into Dumbledore's personal library. All of the portraits except Dippet were all spelled to stop them from talking about the break-in, but they never told even after the spell worn off. By that time, Fawkes had already flown the coop. They have very loose lips when they don't believe someone is listening in."

The red-haired man smiled. "Very good. Over the years, this office has lost its space. This used to be a very large, spacious room. I believe the spell cast on this room by the goblins all those years ago has faded. None of these portraits would be necessary if the spell of guidance was still working. We are the only headmasters or headmistresses from the first five hundred years. Excluding us, the oldest portrait is of Headmistress Pelindrake, and she was headmistress from 1567 to 1573. The spell must have faded around that time. The other races have renewed none of the spells or wards cast on this school. The centaurs, werewolves, vampires, elves…"

The blonde woman's eyes widened. "The veela, unicorns, fae, goblins…"

The black-haired man uttered quietly, "The demons, dwarves, brownies, dragons…"

The woman with the brown hair was bracing herself against the tree, "The phoenixes, merpeople, leprechauns, nymphs…"

"What the hell has happened out there?" demanded the man with black hair. "Not even the naga, sprites, spirits, griffins, or ghosts have renewed their portions of the wards. And Dumbledore shouldn't even need a magical creature detector if the contracts are still valid. Those damn things were Unbreakable Vows; they should still be valid!"

"What about the blessed line? Not even those portions of the wards have been renewed!" gasped the brunette woman.

Three heads swiveled to look at her. "WHAT?!" they demanded in unison.

They all looked horrified. "Dear Saints, what has happened out there?" asked the red-haired man. "This never should have happened, and for not even the blessed line to renew their spells…"

The blonde woman blinked. "Do you think that one prophecy is coming to pass?"

The black-haired man settled against the portrait's frame. "Which prophecy? There have been thousands of them made, and only a couple hundred have already come to pass. And that was in our time—there's been at least a couple hundred more made since then."

The brunette woman jumped up to stare at her friend. "You can't possibly believe…"

"What else could…?"

"But wasn't it believed to…?"

"Just because it never happened doesn't mean…"

"It does make…"

"So you…?"

"Yes. Do you…?"

"Most definitely. Do you think we should…?"

"Yes, they do seem…"

The two men's heads were bouncing back and forth, trying to figure out what the two women were saying. The half-formed sentences were getting annoying, and their faces began to get more and more impatient.

"Are you done?" asked the red-haired man. The two women exchanged glances and nodded.

"Well?" prompted the black-haired man.

The blonde woman spoke up, "We think the Prophecy of Forsaken Brethren is beginning to come to pass."

The men's eyes widened. "Blessed Saints, are you sure?"

The two women nodded. "It was believed to have been false all those years ago, but now…"

"Now things are significantly different from those long-ago times," finished the black-haired man.

The red-haired man nodded. "For now, we sit, and we wait. Our time will soon come, and when it does we'll need to be ready to rally our fellow headmasters and headmistresses. Dumbledore's reign will soon fall, and our prince will need all the support he can get."

The other three nodded, and settled beneath the tree. They put their heads together, and began to plan.

* * *

It was a nice day on Privet Drive. The birds were singing, the children were playing, the ice cream truck was making its rounds…However, the day was not a pleasant one for many of the people living there. That day, one of their neighbors was leaving. Well, starting to leave, anyways.

Five years earlier, the neighbors had loathed Petunia and Vernon Dursley with a passion.

_Flashback_

_Vernon Dursley was a loud, uncouth man who viewed himself to be better than his neighbors and was always bragging about his job and family. He viewed anyone different than himself to be a freak; if you did not meet his definition of normal then you were automatically a freak. One of the neighbors had been shocked into silence when she overheard Vernon referring to his sister-in-law and her family as freaks. _

_Petunia Dursley was a grating, nosy housewife who doted on her son to the point of spoiling the poor kid. She was always peering through her curtains or over her fence at the neighbors, and was always eager for a piece of gossip. She constantly hovered over Dudley (many of the neighbors had bets on how large the kid would be when he was three) and doted over her large husband. What really grated the neighbors was how she would never support her sister and her sister's family whenever Vernon raged about their freakishness._

_Therefore, it was a shock to them all one day when an owl was seen flying into Petunia's house through the window. The entire neighborhood braced itself for an earsplitting shriek and every watching person's jaw dropped when they saw Petunia retrieve a letter from the owl's leg, start crying, and actually respond to the letter. Everyone was sure the apocalypse was approaching._

_All day the neighbors could see Petunia cleaning the house like a woman crazed. They began to believe one of Vernon's big clients was coming over for dinner, or perhaps staying the night. They watched her clean all day, even when she moved into the spare bedroom that seemed to have become extra storage space._

_That night they watched Vernon come home and immediately start complaining about oddly dressed people and strange owls. Those listening exchanged glances; Vernon didn't know about the owl. They weren't able to hear the rest of the conversation, but they all noticed when two finely dressed adults, a young baby, and a dog came walking down the street and knocked on the door to Number 4 Privet Drive._

_Eyebrows rose as the man knocked on the door but nobody answered. They watched in confusion as the woman peered through the windows, but no one still answered. They all watched as the man opened the door, supposing correctly that the Dursleys were home. _

_The couple walked in, and the neighbor could hear the words Petunia screamed at Vernon. The couple ran upstairs, but neglected to close the door, so the entire neighborhood could hear Petunia's stand against Vernon. Almost every single person on Privet Drive went up in arms when they heard Petunia rephrasing what Vernon had said in anger. _

_The entire neighborhood was silent as Vernon raced out to his car, barefoot, and took off. Vernon never returned. They could only observe silently through a window as the strange redheaded woman hugged Petunia._

_End Flashback_

Now, the neighborhood loved Petunia. They still loathed Vernon.

Since that day, Petunia had decidedly improved. She no longer spied on neighbors, and stopped searching for that next bit of gossip. She let back on Dudley, and he was now a happy, healthy, well-rounded little boy. Petunia became a more pleasant person and often invited her neighbors over for lunch at her house.

Petunia's house had changed as well. It was painted a light blue, and the lawn was strewn with children's toys. Inside the dominant color was no longer yellow, but was painted with more reds, blues, and greens. The furniture became more child friendly, and the television was no longer the main fixture in the living room. The walls and shelves were decorated with fewer Dudley-centric pictures, now including pictures of Lily's family and pictures of Lily and Petunia when they were younger.

The entire neighborhood was shocked when they were first introduced to Lily and James Potter, the sister and her family whom Vernon had dubbed freaks. No one could quite figure out why Vernon thought they were freaks, but Vernon was Vernon.

The entire neighborhood respected the new Petunia, and the day they heard she was moving they were shocked. Petunia had met someone, a guy, and she was moving up to a little town called Savita to be closer to him. They didn't want her to go, and today was the day. Today was the day Petunia and Dudley began the move. They weren't leaving for a few days yet, but today was the day the Dursleys began to move their worldly possessions into the moving van.

"Dudley! Dudley, did you see the box of pictures laying around somewhere?" Petunia yelled, frantically searching in the hallway.

"Mum, it's already in the truck!" Dudley replied, dragging a box closer to the door for the moving men to pick up.

"Oh for…" Petunia sighed, and placed the frame she was holding into a box marked as 'Miscellaneous.' She looked around at all of the boxes in the hallway. The movers could handle it. They wouldn't touch the stuff not on the first floor until the next day.

Petunia reached into the cupboard under the stairs and removed a stack of unfolded boxes. "Dudley, find the duct tape, paper towels, and cleaner. We're packing up the attic."

"Okay, Mum!" six-year-old Dudley dashed off. He'd never even known they had an attic!

"Oh, and Dudley? Can you find me a pair of scissors and a permanent marker?" Petunia yelled as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. Dudley yelled up that he would.

Petunia walked down the hall to the closet on the end that had used to be piled full of blankets but was now empty. She opened the closet door, and used a nearby box filled with clothing to prop open the door. She leaned the pile of unfolded cardboard against the wall. She reached up and pulled the chain to turn on the light bulb to reveal a tiny space barely big enough for a closet. She easily pulled the shelves off of the wall, and then pushed the back of the closet. It didn't move.

Petunia frowned, and continued to try to budge the back of the closet. It didn't yield, so Petunia stepped back a few paces, took a deep breath, and launched herself at it. With one solid kick, the back of the closet fell away to reveal a pair of stairs.

Petunia grinned triumphantly, grabbed her cardboard, and carefully walked up the rickety stairs. Three steps up, she was breathing heavily from fear because she had nothing to keep from falling.

The stairs had no railings, and even if it did she wouldn't be able to grab hold of them. The steps were too small for her feet, so she had to walk up sideways. The stairs were pretty steep, and she couldn't really see where she put her feet. It was only about fifteen steps, but it was still nerve-wracking.

Petunia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she made it into the attic and fell next to the stairs. However, she still had to turn on the light, and if she wasn't careful she could still fall down the dratted stairs. Instead of a doorway at the end of the stairs leading to the rest of the attic, there was simply a large hole in the attic floor. Of course, the light, which was pull-chain operated, was right above that hole.

Petunia grabbed a rafter with one hand, leaned over, and pulled the chain, illuminating the rather large attic.

The attic's floor consisted of beams, insulation, and a few hopefully sturdy planks of wood on one side of the attic. The other side was only insulation and beams. Of course, everything had to be mostly in the beam-and-insulation-only part of the attic.

Petunia carefully stepped on a beam and flung her arms out, carefully walking from one side of the attic to the other. She walked out to the far end, grabbed the edges of the closest boxes, and dragged them back near the stairs. She did this several more times until most of the boxes in that area were piled near the stairs.

It was about this time that Dudley's head popped into the attic.

"Wow, I didn't know about this!" Dudley exclaimed.

Petunia smiled at her son. "Neither did Vernon."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah, I had some trouble finding the scissors but Mrs. Figg lent me a pair."

"Oh, good. Well, come up here and fold these cardboard boxes for me."

Dudley clambered up the rest of the stairs into the attic and sat down next to his mother, laying down everything he brought with him. He grabbed the nearest piece of cardboard, folded it into its box shape, cut off strips of duct tape, and taped the bottoms of the boxes.

While Dudley was doing that, Petunia was diving into the nearest box. Many of these boxes had come from her parents' attic. She hadn't brought the boxes up here, but some officials from the Ministry had done it for her. She didn't even know what was in most of these boxes and there were apparently some trunks as well. Petunia doubted her parents had even known what was in most of these boxes; they had rarely gone into the attic. Most of these boxes probably contained things belonging to her grandparents.

In the first box were some old clothes from around the fifties and sixties. Most of them were riddled with holes, so the whole box was dumped down the stairs. In the next box were some old picture albums featuring her parents as children. Those were repacked into a new box. The rest of the boxes contained old clothes or broken toys; they were dumped down the stairs as well.

The trunks Petunia had dragged over were a different matter entirely. She opened one, took one look, and immediately set any and all trunks off to the side for later.

"Mum, what was in there?" Dudley asked when his mum slammed the trunk's lid closed.

She laughed shakily. "A lot. Let's put those off for last, hmm? Hand me that box."

Dudley pushed over the box she pointed at. Petunia had yet to tackle the boxes that were stored next to the stairs. These presumably belonged to the house's previous owners, since the wizards from the Ministry had told her they placed everything on the far side of the attic. Petunia had never bothered to store anything in the attic.

Dudley watched as his mum carefully opened the old box and glanced inside. She blinked as she unearthed some ancient plushes in the shape of mythological animals. Each one was bright and clean. One was a beautiful golden dragon, and Dudley's eyes widened as he saw each toy.

"Mum, can I have them?" he asked excitedly. Petunia turned and smiled at her little boy.

"Of course; why don't you help me move them to this box?" she asked.

Dudley reached in and carefully removed each toy from the box, painstakingly placing them in the new box. Looking them over, Petunia realized that they were magical toys, but the charms that animated them must have faded away. As she examined the box they had been in, she realized the box must have had a spell on it to protect its contents, since the box was falling apart but perfectly clean.

The rest of the boxes contained more magical toys and books as well as piles upon piles of blankets. Petunia and Dudley placed the books, toys, and blankets in boxes and moved them off to the side next to the box containing the photo albums.

That done, Petunia looked at the trunks and shivered in dread. Oh, this would be **fun**.

Dudley and Petunia lifted the lid on the first trunk to reveal books. Lots and lots of books.

"Mum, do we have enough boxes for these books?" Dudley asked.

Petunia sighed heavily, and rubbed her face with one hand. "Probably not. Let's just take them out and see what they're about, and then place them back in the trunk. We can weed out the ones we don't want or need later. This way we'll at least know what we have."

Dudley nodded, and reached in to grab a book. Petunia stopped him, though. "Why don't you let me get them first?" she suggested. Her sister had told her stories about Hogwart's Restricted Section, and Petunia didn't want her son's fingers to be bitten off by a hungry book.

Petunia removed each book, looked at the title, and then handed them off to Dudley, who would wipe the covers off with a paper towel then set the book off to the side. They spent hours just removing books from this one trunk; books covered almost every free space in a ten-meter radius.

"Are we done yet?" Dudley whined.

Petunia sighed. "Why don't you take a break for a while, Dud? I can handle this for a while. I'm sure Mrs. Figg would like a visitor, then when you feel up to it you can throw all those clothes we tossed down the stairs."

Dudley grinned happily, stood up, and dashed down the stairs. "Thanks, Mum!" he yelled.

Petunia wiped her forehead. "Maybe I should call Lily," she mused, and then decided not to. Lily would want the books, and then Dumbledore would find out, and then he'd either make poor Roscoe read every single book or confiscate them for himself. No, these books were safer with her.

Each title was going by and blending into each other. The titles were anything but boring, but one tends to get tired after a while.

"The Lost Art of Potions…Lifestyles of the Werewolf…King Arthur's Legacy…Knights of the Round: Untold…Swords, Stones, and Spells…Shapeshifters, Animagi, and Metamorphagi: What's the Difference?…Complete Self-Updating History of Hogwarts: Contributor's Edition…The Wards and Spells of Hogwarts…The Complete Unabridged Self-Updating Map of Hogwarts: Contributor's Edition…Survival of the Fittest: How to Survive in the Most Dangerous Conditions…"

Petunia's eyes were wide. The second she'd realized the trunks in her attic were not normal trunks, she'd realized that her family probably had more than one witch or wizard in her family. However, she'd never thought that maybe it was something different. These books were actually evidence that it was in fact the other way around: it was her family that had Muggles in it. Or was that Squibs? She got so confused by those wizarding terms.

In addition, her family had some part in making Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That meant her family must be a very, very, very old wizarding family. Only instead of wizards, it has Squibs and Muggles. However, why would her family have books about royal etiquette, King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table? Unless…

Petunia's eyes widened. She was related to Merlin! Shocked and elated, Petunia did the only thing she could do: she fainted.

* * *

"Mum? Mum, are you done yet? I tossed the clothes and Mrs. Figg has offered to serve us lunch. Mum?" Dudley climbed up into the attic to see his mum, unconscious, surrounded by mountains of books.

"Mum?" Dudley shook Petunia's shoulder carefully. "Mum, wake up!"

"Unnnngh," Petunia moaned as she sat up.

"Mum, are you okay? What happened?"

Petunia smiled at Dudley, her mind still trying to digest the fact that she's related to THE Merlin. "I'm fine sweetie. I just saw realized something that surprised me is all."

Dudley eyed his mum, not quite believing her. "Mrs. Figg says lunch will be ready in an hour."

Petunia nodded. "Help me finish with this trunk, then?"

Dudley nodded and sat next to her. They both looked in the trunk, where two lone books remained.

"We're almost done!" Dudley said excitedly.

Petunia laughed. "Not quite," she said, pointing at the three other trunks sitting around them.

"Ah, no," Dudley said in horror.

Petunia reached into the trunk and pulled out the next to last book. "Dragons and You."

Dudley grabbed the last book and frowned. "Mum, what's this say?"

Petunia reached over and took the book from his outstretched hand. "The Dynghedu Rhoddwr Inheritance and Specifics: A Detailed Account of the Dealers of Fate."

Petunia blinked, staring at the book. Dudley looked from his mum to the book in her hand.

"Mum? Are you okay?"

"I…I think I've heard of that before. Where did I hear that at?" Petunia went to put it down, but it was too heavy and fell out of her hands. It fell to the ground, the impact flipping it open. Petunia went to pick it up but froze, her hand outstretched, staring at the sketch on the page of the book.

Dudley leaned over her shoulder to peer at the sketch. "Mum, don't you and Aunt Lily have jewelry like that?" he asked, pointing at a sketch of an emerald necklace and earrings. "And don't some of Grandmum's pictures have her wearing jewelry like that?" he continued, pointing at a sketch of an emerald bracelet.

Petunia was incoherent. "I'm-uh…I'm-uh…I'm going to, uh, just put this…um, over here. That's right, over here." Petunia picked the book up in her shaky hands and moved it out of the way. The two then started to quickly reload the trunk, which took decidedly less time loading than it did unloading.

Petunia opened the next trunk, bracing herself. It was empty. She put her arm in it and waved it around. Still empty. The next two trunks were in a similar state. Petunia was aware of the fact that wizarding trunks had more than one compartment, but she could also remember the day Lily came home from school ranting about how Potter had "one of those newfangled multi-compartmented trunks. Honestly! Why can't they make do with single-compartmented trunks like everyone else?!"

Petunia eyed the empty trunks speculatively and then the boxes of toys and photo albums. She grinned. The next five minutes consisted of Dudley helping Petunia put boxes in the medium-sized trunk. The five minutes after that had Dudley and Petunia tilting the two filled trunks into the largest trunk, and then tilting the largest trunk into the smallest trunk. The trunks all had featherweight charms on them, but it took some maneuvering to actually get the trunks inside each other.

Their attic cleaning done, Petunia double-checked the room for any missed items, passed the light trunk down to Dudley, grabbed the dynghedu rhoddwr book, clicked off the light, and went down the stairs. She put the back of the closet back up, reattached the shelves, clicked off the light, and followed Dudley next door for dinner after placing the book on top of the trunk that Dudley had moved to her room.

In three days, they would be in a new town.

* * *

"Put your back into it!"

"I'm putting, I'm putting!" wheezed Tavor as he pushed the car up the hill with the assistance of Marly and Lia.

"You don't have to be such a taskmaster, old man! Just because you can't do it…" Lia muttered.

"I heard that Worldkeeper Lia! Keep pushing or it'll be bread and water for you! Bread and water!"

Tavor snorted and Lia giggled. Marly rolled his eyes as Wylie peered down at them from the car's roof. "Don't I do a good impression of Ton?"

"You sound more like Kee and Ton's evil lovechild," replied Marly.

Tavor, Lia, and Wylie grimaced in unison. "No! Bad images, bad images!" wailed Lia.

"Besides," Tavor mused, "doesn't he already have a girlfriend?"

Wylie nodded. "Yeah, her and her kid are moving up here in a few days. Don't know if he's going to give them the whole doom and gloom save-the-world-one-gate-at-a-time routine, though."

Marly shrugged. "He probably will. He's head over heels for this lady, and she had better not run screaming the second she hears magic exists unless she wants us to hunt her down for target practice."

The other three nodded.

"Wylie! Get back to work or it'll be bread and water for you! Bread and water!" yelled Avye from the house.

"Yes, Mum," Wylie groaned while the other three laughed. He jumped down to help push.

"Now she's channeling Wylie's evil lovechild impersonation," muttered Lia. They all laughed again and continued to push against the car, which went nowhere.

Kee leaned out of the window of the cottage and looked down at Ton, who was crouched next to the wall, trying to hook the garden hose up to the water spout on the side of the house.

"Think we should tell 'em to put it in neutral? Or at least out of park?" she asked conversationally.

Ton grinned at her roguishly. "Let them sweat it out. It's good training."

Avye snorted from inside the house. "I seriously doubt they'll need to move any car-sized boulders in their lifetime."

Az grinned from where he was cutting up vegetables at the counter. "That's what you get for letting Kee drive."

Kee rolled her eyes. "I don't see why you're complainin', anyways. 'S not you pushin' the car."

Avye turned to Kee, eyes glinting. "I'm sure they could always use some help. You volunteering?"

"Ah, no, no, I'm fine. Jus' fine right here."

"Good."

Kee sighed in relief as Ton and Az chuckled.

"No, watch out, watch out! Left, left, no, the other left, the other left! Oh sh—there goes the wheel!"

"Incoming hubcap!"

"Dive, dive, dive!"

There was a loud crash from outside and the sound of something metal rolling on the ground; the four adults winced. "What have they done now?" asked Az in exasperation, moving to the window.

Avye followed him. "I haven't the slightest—oh dear Merlin, my car!" Avye wailed as she ran outside.

"I pity the boulder in their future," Az stated as he stared wide-eyed through the open window. Kee and Ton could only nod in agreement.


	5. All in a Day's Work

**Some quick information:** I got the idea of the stuffed toy army from Willow and Spike in **Lucinda**'s **A Tale of Two Tiggers**. However, they never actively sent the toys out to conquer the world—the farthest they got was animating them to walk into the house. Also, I got the idea of the fake phoenix from another Harry Potter story. Sorry, I don't remember which one. So, the idea of owl!Fawkes is not mine. However, all of the other Fawkes theories belong to me.

**Oh, and: **The first person to figure out who the blond-haired boy is gets a cameo. Also, the first person that can tell me exactly who Ochus Bochus (mentioned in this chapter and the third chapter) is also gets a cameo. (One cameo per person!)

* * *

**Dealer of Fate**

**Chapter Five  
All in a Day's Work**

**August 25, 1986**

When Petunia and Dudley had left Number 4 Privet Drive, they had expected to arrive in Savita by August 24th. Neither had expected any delays, such as getting lost, car trouble, or missing moving vans. Unfortunately, all that and more had happened and what should have been a three-hour car trip became more like a twenty-hour car trip. In addition, no one was answering whenever Petunia tried calling her boyfriend and the Potter Manor had no phone lines.

It had started out good, but then Petunia went straight instead of taking a left. They had to turn around an hour later after they realized they were lost. Then, when they were finally going in the right direction the right front tire blew. Cut time to change the tire. Five miles after that, the engine blew. By the time they made it to the nearest repair shop, the day was halfway done.

Petunia then tried calling the moving van, only to realize the van was nowhere near Savita, Materia, or any other town on the way to Savita. Apparently, the moving van had also taken the wrong turn but instead of being one hour in the wrong direction, they were five hours in the wrong direction.

It was about that time that Petunia and Dudley checked into a nearby inn. They wouldn't arrive in Savita until August 25th, hitching a ride with the movers in the moving van. The car wouldn't be fixed until the beginning of September.

It was a sunny, cheerful day when Petunia, Dudley, and the moving van finally pulled into the driveway of a small, but nice-looking house in the middle of town. Dudley had never been to the small house, but Petunia had. It was in the middle of a small neighborhood, and none of the houses resembled each other. A few kids lived in the same neighborhood, and just down the road was a small park.

Everyone piled out of the moving van, and Dudley ran into his new house to explore. Petunia and the movers moved the suitcases, boxes, and one trunk into the house's entryway and hallway, and all of the furniture into their respective rooms. They had offered to move the boxes into their specific rooms, but Petunia had assured them that that wasn't necessary. Petunia paid the movers in pounds and some of Mrs. Figg's wonderful fudge mint triple-decker brownies. The happy movers then returned to the van and left to find an inn or hotel to rest in before they left for their next job.

Flowers bloomed brightly in a flowerbed surrounding the house. The house was dark red, with black shingles and trim. There was an unconnected garage and play equipment in the backyard. A wooden unpainted fence surrounded the property.

Petunia moved to the boxes in the hallway and began to unpack. After a while, Dudley began to help as well. With the two of them quickly putting away items, time flew by. When someone rang the doorbell several hours later as they were about to open the last remaining item of business, they jumped.

* * *

Lia shuffled from side to side nervously, looking around the neighborhood. Marly poked her in the side and shook his head. Lia gave him a dirty look, but stopped fidgeting nonetheless.

"I don't know, Ton, are you sure this is the right neighborhood? I mean, this is one of the more…magical…neighborhoods. Are you sure she knows nothing about magic?"

Ton glanced over at Marly. "She's never mentioned it, and I'm sure it would've come up at one point."

Lia giggled. "And I'm sure you told her about how you're magical. I mean, it would've come up at one point."

Ton gave Lia a dirty look and rang the doorbell again.

"Hey, look, there's Healer Jase! Hi, Healer Jase!" Lia yelled, waving her arm excitedly at the elderly healer.

Ton sighed, and put his face in his hand. "Show some dignity for once," he muttered.

Marly grinned at the older man. "What dignity? Hi, Healer Jase!" he yelled, joining Lia in waving at the healer wildly.

The healer smiled and waved back at the trio. "Hello, Lia, Marly, Ton, 'Tunia. How are you settling in, dear?"

The trio froze and slowly turned, to see an amused-looking woman standing in the doorway behind them. "Hello, sweetie," she greeted, kissing Ton on the lips. "You must be Lia and Marly; Carl's told me a lot about you."

"Not in public, 'Tunia," Ton muttered. Petunia only laughed, having succeeded in irritating her beloved boyfriend.

Lia and Marly exchanged amused looks. _'Carl?'_ Lia mouthed.

Petunia leaned around the three blocking her doorway. "Hello, Healer Jase; Dudley and I are doing just fine. I was wondering if you wanted to stop by later, we have some interesting books we thought you might want to look at."

"Some interesting books, you say?" Healer Jase asked in interest. Petunia nodded. "How about I come around in about an hour?"

Petunia smiled. "That'll be perfect. We're about to start unpacking them now, so come around anytime you wish."

"I'll do that then. See you later, Petunia!"

Petunia smiled and waved, herding the trio in front of her into the house. The house was a lot bigger on the inside than it first appeared, but that might have been because of the expansion spells on the house. The entryway opened into the hallway, which led to the kitchen, living room, dining room, one bathroom, a closet, and a flight of stairs. On the second floor were three bedrooms, a study, another closet, two more bathrooms, and the stairs to the attic.

Marly leaned in close to Lia. "Not aware of magic, my arse," he muttered.

Their attention turned to a six-year-old boy trying to unlatch the lid of a rather small trunk. He looked up as they came in.

"Dudley, you know Ton. These are his friends Lia and Marly." Dudley waved shyly.

Ton glanced over at his coworkers. "Lia, Marly, this is my girlfriend, Petunia and her son, Dudley." He turned to Petunia. "The others couldn't make it, they're too busy car-shopping. These two got to come with me as punishment for wrecking the car."

"That wasn't our fault!" retorted Lia.

Ton raised an eyebrow. "As the adults, you two get to assume responsibility. Otherwise…"

"Yeah, yeah, bread and water, water and bread. We get it," Lia sighed, rolling her eyes. Marly, Petunia, and Dudley snickered.

"So, what are you two up to?" asked Marly curiously.

"We're unpacking the trunks," replied Dudley excitedly.

"Trunks?" Marly looked around, confused. "I only see one."

Petunia laughed, and opened the lid of the trunk. She and Dudley reached in, and hauled a really large trunk out of the noticeably smaller trunk. The trio stared.

"You have a magical trunk," deadpanned Ton.

"Four, actually," replied Petunia, latching open the lid of the second trunk. Petunia and Dudley removed a third trunk from the second trunk. Marly and Lia leaned over the second trunk, then exchanged glances and removed a fourth trunk.

"You have four magical trunks," deadpanned Ton.

"I have a magical sister, too," replied Petunia, popping open the third trunk.

Ton stared. "You know about magic."

"For years now. Are you going to just stand there, or are you actually going to help?"

Petunia removed the box of photo albums from the trunk. Dudley dragged the box into the living room and began to put the photo albums away in a bookshelf.

Lia leaned over and waved a hand in front of Ton's face. "I hate to say this, Petunia, but I think you broke him."

Ton opened and closed his mouth several times. "I…why didn't you tell me?"

"Carlton, I had no idea whether you knew or not. Now, why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh…" Ton stared at Petunia, and then deflated. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He looked at her pitifully, or as pitifully as a man of his size and stature could look.

She laughed. "You're forgiven. Help me unload these old magical toys?"

Marly and Lia lit up like kids at Christmas. "You have magical toys?" The two dove into the boxes.

"Oh, oh, look at this! She has pixies!" Lia shrieked. "Do you know how rare these are? There were only a few hundred made, and most of them were destroyed by the London Ministry!"

Deep inside another box, Marly let out a yell. "Dear Merlin, it's a stuffed basilisk! Those haven't been made for centuries!"

Ton dove into the third box, and Petunia just watched in amusement as the three adults went through the magical toys.

The box Ton was in fell over as he let out a yell of surprise. "It's a Golden Drake!" he yelped in excitement.

"What?!" the other two yelled, promptly jumping out of their boxes to look at what Ton was holding in his hand.

Lia stared at the golden dragon stuffed toy in shock. "I need to sit down," she breathed, collapsing bonelessly on the floor.

"I need a drink," Marly said, wide-eyed, wandering off towards the kitchen.

"Firewhisky is in the top of the cupboard above the sink," Petunia informed the dazed man. He only nodded as he walked off.

The sounds of clattering came from the kitchen before Marly came back nursing a cup of coffee. He collapsed next to Lia, and joined her in staring at the golden dragon.

"Well?" asked Petunia.

Ton was the one to answer. "Over five hundred years ago, the Golden Drake toys were all the rage. They didn't last for long, however, because the toys were made out of real Golden Drake, and the dragons were already on the verge of extinction. This toy and the demand for its materials quickly pushed them over the edge. Five years later, after the last of the Golden Drakes was killed, every single toy made of materials forcefully taken from a Golden Drake burst into flames. The only things that remain of them are sketches in ancient books."

The four adults stared at the golden dragon plush. "So…so, that means…"

"You have the last Golden Drake plush in existence. And more importantly, that means the materials for this Golden Drake were freely given. This may very well be one of the first ever made," said Lia.

Marly grinned. "Kee, Avye, and Tavor are going to freak when they see all this," he said, gesturing towards the toys.

Petunia frowned. "But aren't they supposed to move?" she asked.

Ton shook his head. "Toys made of magical creatures are impervious to animation spells, and it's been illegal to cast animation spells on stuffed toys for over a millennium and a half. Something about a Dark Lord using an army of animated stuffed toys in an attempt to take over the Wizarding World."

Petunia blinked. "An army of stuffed toys."

Marly nodded. "We don't talk about him too often. It's bad enough that he almost succeeded."

Petunia winced. "I can see how that would be embarrassing."

The others nodded, and Ton carefully put down the Golden Drake.

"Should we put these in one of the trunks, then?" asked Marly.

Petunia nodded, and then paused. "Wait, I said that Dudley could have these."

The others winced. "I'm sure he'll understand. He's a good kid, I doubt he'll throw much of a tantrum," Ton consoled.

Petunia winced, imagining what Dudley would be like if she was still married to Vernon. Overweight, pushy, a bully, and spoiled to boot. The tantrums themselves would have been hell, and he would have so many broken and ignored toys that he'd need a second bedroom to store them all. Thank goodness she'd gotten out of that marriage before it was too late.

The four of them started to remove the toys from the boxes, and carefully placed them in the medium-sized trunk. Each toy was oohed and ahhed over, one of the three visitors occasionally giving a brief history of this or that toy or creature. They were halfway done loading the trunk when Dudley came in.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"We're putting these in the trunk. Ton, Lia, and Marly looked them over, and they're too dangerous for you to play with. The claws on some of these toys, for example, have real claws."

Dudley's eyes were wide, and he nodded. They all sighed in relief at the success of Petunia's bluff; even though some of the toys had real claws, they were still safe to play with, but Dudley didn't need to know that.

Dudley helped them put the toys in the trunk, listening avidly to the three visitors as they talked. He handled the toys carefully, trying to keep his hands away from the claws and teeth of the toys.

They put the trunk into the largest trunk, and then put the largest trunk into the smallest trunk and latched the lid. They moved both trunks into the living room after Petunia warned them of the amount of books they'd be unpacking.

The trunk had just been opened when the doorbell rang again.

Petunia stood up and came to the door to see Healer Jase and another man she'd never met.

"Petunia, this is Jasper Reeves, but everyone calls him Mr. Reeves. Mr. Reeves, this is Petunia," Healer Jase introduced. "Petunia, Mr. Reeves lives across the street from you. Now, where are those books?"

Petunia smiled, and shook Mr. Reeves's hand. He was bald, with a large stomach and a dour look on his face. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Reeves." She turned to Healer Jase. "We were just about to start unpacking them. If you'll follow me."

Petunia led the two men into the living room, and the dour look on Mr. Reeves face melted away when he saw the wizarding trunks. He looked at her in surprise.

"You're part of a wizarding family?"

"My sister," she explained, "but I only recently realized that we might be a squib line."

Mr. Reeves looked at her in interest. "What makes you say that?"

"The trunks, for one," she replied, "and the contents of some of these books, for another."

The two men joined Lia, Ton, Marly, and Dudley around the trunk of books. Healer Jase leaned over the trunk, and pulled out one of the books on top. "Nightshade, Belladonna, and Hemlock: Their Healing Properties," he read with a frown. "This has to be one of the more useless books," he commented. "Everyone knows those plants are deadly." He opened the cover, and almost fell over. "Or not. Rowena Ravenclaw did know her plants and potions, after all."

The others looked at the front page, where Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the most famous Potions Mistresses in existence, was listed as the author.

Ton pulled out another book, and opened the cover. "Here's another Ravenclaw book, co-written by Helga Hufflepuff: The Quill is Mightier Than the Sword: Unconventional Weapons." He read the first few pages, and his eyes widened. He slowly put the book down. "I will never look at circlets the same way again," was all he said.

Lia pulled out a third book, read the cover, and fell over. "How to Learn Basic Parseltongue by Salazar Slytherin." She flipped open the book and read the introduction. The others turned to stare at her when she shrieked. "Sl-Sl-Slytherin w-wasn't a natural Parselmouth," she stuttered.

The others continued to stare, this time in shock. "He apparently met a natural Parselmouth while the founders of Hogwarts were establishing the wards, and this Parselmouth taught him how to speak and understand it. But Slytherin was never fluent in it."

The others continued to stare. "Wait a minute," said Mr. Reeves slowly. "Does that mean You-Know-Who wasn't a natural Parselmouth either, since he was supposedly the Heir of Slytherin?"

Lia nodded. "He must have found a book on how to speak Parseltongue."

Everyone, even Petunia, was in complete and utter shock.

Petunia coughed, and grabbed a book from the trunk. She recognized the title, and waved the book around. "Listen to this: The Complete Unabridged Self-Updating Map of Hogwarts: Contributor's Edition."

Marly's jaw dropped. "Did you just say 'Contributor's Edition'?" he gasped.

Lia was more in shock over the fact that there was a map of Hogwarts in existence.

Mr. Reeves was frozen as Petunia's words from earlier washed over him.

_"…But I only recently realized that we might be a squib line…The trunks, for one, and the contents of some of these books, for another."_

Dear Merlin, his new neighbor's family had helped build Hogwarts.

Mr. Reeves was the next person to take a book out of the trunk. "Here's another one you might want to look at," he said, handing The Lost Art of Potions to Healer Jase.

Marly took out Magical Creatures and You by Helga Hufflepuff while Dudley took outDancing With Griffins by Godric Gryffindor.

One by one, each person took out a book. Some were by the founders, others had no authors mentioned, and a few were by Merlin himself. There was one by Ochus Bochus, and another by someone known only as Pelindrake. Some names were familiar, and others they'd never heard of. There was one name in particular that the others didn't immediately recognize that Petunia most certainly did.

"How to Tell If You Are the Subject of a Prophecy by Galileo Galilee," read Healer Jase.

Ton rolled his eyes, and removed another book from the trunk. "Sounds like a useless book to me. The Big Self-Updating Book of Prophecies by Galileo Galilee." He rolled his eyes and gave it to Petunia, who was desperately trying to take it from him.

"'Tunia, what's wrong?" he asked.

"My sister," she said as she flipped through the book, "once said something about a prophecy. Aha!"

She read the prophecy she'd found to herself, and then frowned. "Fulfilled? It's been fulfilled?"

"What's been fulfilled?" asked Mr. Reeves.

"The Dark Lord's prophecy. My sister's always said how he's coming back, and that Dumbledore is training the Dog-Who-Lived and the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn for the Final Battle because supposedly the Dark Lord isn't dead…but according to this, that training isn't necessary!"

"What?" the others looked over her shoulder.

"Maybe there's another prophecy mentioning it?" suggested Marly.

The same person made the only remaining prophecy after that one, but the words were blurry. "What does that mean?" asked Dudley.

Petunia opened the book to the first page. "'This is a complete and self-updating list of all true prophecies. The prophecies are all labeled as fulfilled or unfulfilled, with the name of the Seer in bold. This list does not mention the subjects of the prophecies, because the theories about the subjects are not always correct and this list does not provide translations for any of the listed prophecies.' Oh, here we go: 'Any blurry prophecy did not have a witness or had a witness who was not on the correct plane at the time.'"

"And that means…" led Mr. Reeves.

"Either no one saw it or a ghost saw it…or someone had a vision of it but wasn't there at the time." Marly reasoned.

"So chances are no one knows of this unknown prophecy but us?"

"Looks that way."

Petunia sighed and put the book off to the side. She grabbed another book out of the trunk, The Truth About Dragons. "Well, they won't unpack themselves," she commented.

Mr. Reeves eyed the growing pile of books hungrily. "Interested in selling any of these?"

The other four adults subtly shook their heads, but Petunia wasn't paying attention. She was too busy thinking.

Petunia opened her mouth to reply, paused, and frowned. Something was niggling at the back of her mind. Something she once heard one of Lily's friends say.

She couldn't remember his name, or even what he looked like for that matter. He was one of James's friends, and was one of the more quiet ones of the bunch. On the day they graduated, Petunia had overheard him saying something regarding the books he owned.

"_I don't care even if the castle is burning down, acromantulas are singing karaoke or Sirius has decided to become a monk. I am never going to sell these books, no matter how much I need the money, because they are a part of me and I am a part of them. I may have children one day, or, Merlin forbid, James or Sirius will, and I want those kids to have these books. Who knows, while I might not need __How to Break Egyptian Curses the Pharaoh Way__, one of them might need it to save the world. I am not going to sell a book, no matter what, because knowing my luck it'll come back to bite me in the arse in twenty years."_

Petunia automatically changed her mind, and replied to Mr. Reeves's question. "Mr. Reeves, I once heard someone ask another man why he didn't sell all of the books he had accumulated during his schooling, and I'm going to tell you almost exactly what he said. I don't care even if the house is burning down, acromantulas are singing karaoke, or the Pope is working street corners. I am never going to sell these books, no matter how much I need the money, because they are a part of my family and my family is a part of them. Dudley or one of the other children I later meet throughout my life may need those books, and I want them to have them. While I might not need, say, King Arthur's Legacy, one of those children might need it to save the world. I am not going to sell a book, no matter what, because luck may not be on our side and it'll come back to bite me in the arse in twenty years. I'm sorry, Mr. Reeves, but none of the books I own are for sale."

The man sighed. "Well, it was worth a try," he grinned. He peered down into the trunk. "So, how many are left? Twenty?"

Dudley and Petunia laughed. "It took us about two hours to go through these books, Mr. Reeves. We've only just begun."

Marly cracked his knuckles. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" he asked, plunging back into the trunk.

* * *

"Why are we here again?" asked Wylie, dragging his feet as he followed Kee, Tavor, Avye, and Az through the dealership.

Tavor looked back at his brother and rolled his eyes. "We're looking for a car after you broke the last one."

"**I** broke it?! If I remember right, you were the one who—"

"I did not! Besides, if Kee hadn't driven it, then we wouldn't have needed to push it in the first place!" The two boys turned accusatory looks toward Kee, who blanched.

"Now, wait one moment, Avye was the one who gave me permission!" Kee reminded them hurriedly.

The accusatory looks turned towards Avye who was leaning over a car, oblivious.

"I don't see why we have to go car shopping, anyways. Lia and Marly got to have fun meeting and greeting Ton's girlfriend, and we have to follow Mum around looking for a new car. As the responsible adults, Lia and Marly should be here and not us," commented Wylie.

"Those 'responsible adults' couldn't come car shopping because they're banned from every dealership within 100 kilometers," replied Az, "and Avye can't drive that far, not without a car."

Tavor and Wylie looked at the two adults in awe. "They got banned?"

"From every dealership?"

"Within 100 kilometers?"

They exchanged glances and grinned evilly. Kee and Az paled. "Maybe we should have left them with Ton and just made Lia and Marly wait in my car," commented Az.

Kee looked at him incredulously. "You have a better chance of convincin' Avye to buy a motorbike and tattoo I ARE HERE on her left arse cheek."

Az snorted, then paused. "Kee…where'd Tavor and Wylie go?"

There was a loud crash from the far side of the lot, followed by the sound of a car horn blaring and someone yelling loudly.

They took off running, following the French profanity to its source—and their wayward charges.

A short round man with black hair and a moustache was loudly spouting off in French at three unrepentant people.

Avye turned and waved cheerfully at the two Worldkeepers from where she was perched on top of a cherry red sports car. "Did you know that if you time it just right you can turn a car into a seesaw?"

Kee began to hit her head against the nearest car, to the chagrin of the car dealer.

* * *

Marly collapsed onto the floor of Petunia's living room. "How many books are in this thing?" he gasped, staring at the mounds of books covering the living room floor. 

Petunia laughed shakily. "I think we're almost done."

The others turned to stare at her. "You think?" asked Lia in shock.

Carlton was busy examining the outside of the trunk with a frown. "I think the expansion spells on this trunk are better than those on most trunks for sale today. I've never seen a trunk hold this much in one compartment before that wasn't designed to be room-sized."

Petunia and Dudley looked at him in horror. "Ton, please tell me our trunk only has one compartment," Petunia begged.

"It only has one compartment," assured Ton.

"Oh, good," she sighed. "That's what I thought."

Lia removed a book from the trunk and shrieked. "We're on the last layer!"

The others gathered around to look. Where the book had been, one could clearly see the bottom of the trunk. They quickly removed the books from the trunk, reading and announcing the titles.

Dudley looked from the trunk, to the piles of books, and back to the trunk again. "Now what?" he asked.

The others blinked, and looked at the books. "Good point. Should we put them back in the trunk?"

Mr. Reeves shook his head. "It'd make more sense to put them in a library or bookshelf of some sort."

Everyone turned to look at Ton.

"We have a study," mentioned Petunia. "Honey, do you think you can spell the books up there into the bookshelves?"

Ton nodded and frowned, focusing on something none of them could see. A wind kicked up, ruffling their hair. A tattoo of a wrought iron gate on Ton's upper left arm and a tattoo of a rock on his right ankle glowed slightly with power. With a pop, the books disappeared and the sound of shuffling and rusting could be heard from upstairs.

With a heavy breath, Ton relaxed, the glow fading from his tattoos. Petunia was staring at him in shock.

"How…how did you do that?" she asked in shock.

Marly grinned at his friend's girlfriend. "Magic, of course."

Petunia narrowed her eyes. "But don't you need a wand or focus or something? My sister never goes anywhere without her wand."

The other three glanced at Mr. Reeves and Healer Jase warily. Healer Jase laughed and shook his head, while Mr. Reeves stared at them speculatively. His brain was churning, and the dollar signs were almost visible in his eyes. He was avidly listening to the conversation.

Healer Jase looked at his watch, and jumped. "Mr. Reeves, weren't you expected back in your office five minutes ago?" he asked conversationally.

The other man jumped in surprise, then looked at his watch. He cursed. "If you'll please excuse me; it was nice meeting you, Petunia, Dudley."

"Likewise, Mr. Reeves," Petunia smiled.

Mr. Reeves nodded at them, and quickly left the house, bidding goodbye to the others.

Healer Jase grinned at the three Worldkeepers, Dudley, and Petunia. "I better take that as my cue to leave, before he remembers that today is his day off. It was good seeing you again, Petunia. Would you mind horribly if I borrowed these books?" he asked, holding up several of the potions books.

Petunia nodded. "Just bring them back when you're done. Stop by for tea sometime?"

The healer nodded. "I'll look forward to it." He waved, and left the house with the books under one arm.

Petunia turned to Ton, a deadly glint in her eye. "So, what is it you haven't been telling me?" she asked dangerously.

Marly and Lia exchanged glances and began to edge towards the door. Without removing her eyes from Ton, Petunia pointed straight at them. "And where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

The pair blanched. "Avye wanted us to pick her up at the car dealership," Marly lied.

Petunia removed her eyes from Ton. She raised an eyebrow at the two. "Oh really? How did she manage to get to the car dealership in the first place?" she asked conversationally. "I'm sure you didn't leave her alone, and I'm sure two kids, at least four bodyguards, and one Avye could fit in that tiny car."

"Uh…" Marly and Lia conveniently forgot about expansion spells in their panic.

"Sit. Don't move a muscle," Petunia ordered.

The two sat.

"Well?"

Ton sighed. "Are you sure you want to know? It could be dangerous…"

Petunia threw her hands in the air. "Carlton! I live in danger every day! Just by driving a car, I'm in danger! Walking across the street, I'm in danger! My nephew is the Boy-Who-Was-Reborn and my sister's dog is the Dog-Who-Lived! What if someone decides to use my relationship to them as an advantage, Carlton? Just by having a sister, I'm in danger!" she ranted. "Carlton, did you ever stop to think that by not telling me you were putting me in even more danger? Explain. Now."

Wide-eyed, Carlton explained, "I'm not a wizard. None of Avye's bodyguards are. We're all squibs, or are related to muggle-borns. By having a relationship to a magical person, that means we have more magic in our veins than ordinary muggles, but not enough to actually be able to cast magic."

Petunia nodded to show she understood.

"Our world has a Gate to the Universe. Basically, it's a door that, if opened, would lead straight into the middle of our universe. However, if that Gate were to be opened, it would create an odd sort of paradox and everything would be destroyed."

Petunia frowned. "Technically the universe would be opening upon itself. The Gate would open, and our part of the universe would go into that part and vice versa," she reasoned.

Lia nodded. "Instant destruction."

"Therefore, the Gate is protected by a Gatekeeper, who lives almost right on top of it. That person's duty is to make sure no one ever opens the Gate and that nothing never enters or leaves through it," Ton continued.

"We are the Worldkeepers, and our duty is to protect the world, the Gatekeeper and his or her children. Gatekeepers are not allowed to have their own children, because the constant proximity and their connection to the Gate creates infertility. Therefore, all Gatekeepers adopt at least one child. That child often becomes an apprentice, and eventually, the new Gatekeeper.

"Worldkeepers are stationed all over the world. They live near dangerous areas where the fabric between times, universes or dimensions is unstable and do their best to keep the fabric whole. They protect the world, as do we. A few Worldkeepers are always stationed to live near the Gatekeeper and to help protect the Gate. We protect the Gatekeeper and the Gatekeeper's children in an attempt to keep people from using them as leverage to open the Gate.

"All Worldkeepers are given two tattoos upon their instatement as a Worldkeeper. The first tattoo is that of a gate, connecting the Worldkeeper to the Gatekeeper. The second tattoo is that of an element, connecting us to the planet. We cannot use magic from ourselves, but instead our tattoos are a direct connection to the planet and the Gatekeeper. The tiny amount of magic in our blood is enough to fuel the connection, and we can draw magic from the planet and our Gatekeeper. We cannot use wands to focus this magic, and instead we have to focus on what is done for the magic to work."

Dudley and Petunia stared at Ton in shock. "You mean…you mean, we could do magic?"

Lia shook her head. "Not necessarily. Just because you have traces of magic in your blood doesn't mean your body will be able to withstand the magic you draw upon. Using this magic puts a lot more strain on the body than those born with the ability to use magic with just a wand. That's why we keep our magic to a minimum, but sometimes if the body isn't strong enough the process will kill you."

Petunia paled and turned to Dudley. "You are not becoming a Worldkeeper," she informed him.

Dudley looked disappointed. "I can't?"

Marly grinned. "There is more to the Wizarding World than just magic. Wands aren't required to make potions or care for magical creatures."

Dudley looked excited again. "I don't need magic for magical creatures?"

Lia grinned. "Marly, I think you've created a monster."

Marly only laughed. "Then my job here is done," he said smugly.

Petunia sighed. "Now I'll never be able to talk him out of it." She turned to Dudley. "We'll see," was all she said.

Petunia turned to Ton. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Ton gave her as pathetic a look as he could manage. "I'm sorry and I'll never do it again?"

Petunia kissed him. "You're forgiven. I guess I didn't really have any room to be mad at you, though. After all, I didn't tell you about my family or that I knew about magic."

Marly and Lia looked interested. "Is it true, then? You're really related to the Thanos and Roscoe?"

Dudley nodded. "They aren't that special, though. Roscoe's okay, but he's irritating sometimes. Thanos is mean, though. Aunt Lily says he used to be nice, but the training made him really mean. We're not allowed to be alone with him anymore."

The three were shocked. "Is Dumbledore aware of this?"

Petunia nodded. "He encouraged it. I don't trust him; there's just something wrong about him."

The others nodded. "He used to have a phoenix. Rumor has it that the bird had a burning day and wasn't reborn," commented Marly.

Lia snorted. "Do you honestly believe that? There's a better chance of the phoenix breaking its bond."

Marly grinned at the girl. "I bet he was an owl glamoured to look like a phoenix, and he just died."

"Unregistered animagus."

"Mass hallucination."

"Holographic projection."

"I bet it was stuffed."

"Maybe it was a real phoenix, and he accidentally lost it?"

"You can't lose a phoenix. They have that fire thingie to transport by."

"Maybe it was just a piñata?"

Marly snorted. "And one day a first year muggle-born decided to break it open to see what was inside."

"Maybe it found someone else to bond to."

"Maybe…"

Ton coughed and looked at Petunia apologetically. "Well, we better get going. It's getting late. Should we stop by tomorrow? We can bring everyone then."

Marly rolled his eyes. "Provided Avye actually managed to find a car."

"That'll be great. Say goodbye, Dudley," prompted Petunia.

"Bye, Ton. Bye, Miss Lia; bye, Mr. Marly."

"Bye, Dudley, bye, Petunia," the two Worldkeepers chorused.

Ton smiled and kissed Petunia. "Bye 'Tunia, see you tomorrow?"

She smiled. "See you tomorrow. Love you."

Ton smiled widely. "Love you, too, 'Tunia. Goodbye, Dudley, behave for your mother."

Dudley sighed. "I will, Ton. See you tomorrow!"

Ton kissed Petunia again, waved at Dudley, and followed Lia and Marly out of the house. Lia promptly started laughing loudly. "Mr. Marly! How does it feel to be a mister, Marly?"

Marly glowered at her. "Do I look like a mister to you?"

Lia grinned and opened her mouth.

"Don't answer that," he grumbled.

"Oh, give it a break, Marly. It's just two little letters. Did Marly-kun's itty-bitty pwide have a bad day?"

Marly rolled his eyes good-naturedly and pushed her with his shoulder. She pushed back, and they walked to the car, pushing each other as they walked.

Ton simply put his face in his hand. "Just get in the car," he moaned.

* * *

Avye stretched as she walked into the cottage. "That was fun," she commented. 

Four harassed-looking people fell through the door after her.

"Define 'fun,'" gasped Kee, her hair flying around her in tangles.

Az rushed past, his face tinged green and hands pressed over his mouth. He slammed the door shut as he ran into the loo.

Wylie and Tavor had simply collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. The two boys' faces were a pasty white and they looked like they'd both seen a Dementor. Their eyes were like two large saucers in their faces and they were shaking like leaves.

Wylie slowly raised his hand to point at her. "Ne-never again."

Tavor and Kee could only nod shakily. The sound of the toilet flushing could be heard from the loo, and Az stumbled out shakily.

He pointed at Avye. "You, young lady, are to never drive that fast on this road ever again."

She looked at him in surprise. "But I didn't hit anything yet."

Tavor chuckled grimly. "Yet, Mum. Yet."

"Besides, I don't think those cows will ever recover," pointed out Wylie.

They all winced.

_Flashback_

_Avye grinned wildly from behind the wheel of her new car. Kee was buckled in to her left, and Tavor, Wylie, and Az were all sitting in the back. They'd just left the parking lot of the car dealership._

_Avye turned around to look at her sons, the wild grin still plastered to her face. "Let's see how fast this thing can go!" she said excitedly. With that, she put pedal to the metal and took off down the streets with a loud screech._

_Tavor, Az, and Wylie promptly gripped the back of the seats in front of them with white knuckles, while Kee was plastered to the car door. The car rocketed around a corner, narrowly missing a pair of women strolling across the street with a young blond-haired boy._

_The two women screamed and fell back. The boy was left staring after the car with wide eyes while the blonde-haired woman, his mother, continued to screech. The woman drew her wand to hex the car, but the other woman wrestled it out of her hands, berating her for her loss of composure in public._

"_Dear Merlin, Avye, slow down!" yelled Az into her ear. _

_Avye shook her head and cackled insanely, careening through a flock of pigeons that flew up in a panic. The passengers all winced at the thumps several unlucky pigeons made as they hit the car._

_Wylie was a pale white, chanting over and over, "Please don't let me die. I'm too young to die. Please don't let me die." By now he was clinging to Az, his face buried into the man's shoulder. He really didn't want to watch the scenery as it flew by._

_Avye let out a whoop as the car hit a bump and flew high into the air. Kee screamed in horror and practically leapt over her seat to huddle with Az, Tavor, and Wylie._

"_We're going to die!" wailed Kee, clutching Tavor painfully tight. _

_The car rocketed out of town onto a little gravel road. The car was rattling and sliding dangerously on the loose gravel. Avye took a series of curves at high speed, barely managing to keep on the road. _

_Avye kept driving as fast as the car could go, and didn't stop even when a large amount of cows were slowly crossing the road. With a jerk, the car veered off the road, barely missing hitting several cows and mentally traumatizing at least two of them before veering back onto the road after the cows had been passed._

_By now, none of the passengers had their eyes open and were clutching each other in fear, huddled up almost on the floor of the car._

_The car took a sharp left and dangerously navigated another series of curves and up the hill, coming to a sharp stop in front of the cottage._

_Kee, Az, Wylie, and Tavor all lurched out of the car, collapsing on a heap on the ground._

"_Land!" Wylie cried, kissing the ground repeatedly in relief._

_Avye strolled into the cottage nonchalantly while the others got up and stumbled after her, barely able to walk from the fear-induced adrenaline rush._

_End Flashback_

"At least I didn't hit one," Avye reasoned.

The four slumped where they were standing or lying.

"That's not the point, Mum," replied Tavor. "The point is—"

"We're home!" yelled a cheery voice from outside. Marly walked through the door. "I see you got a new—what the bloody hell happened to you four?"

Tavor, Wylie, Kee, and Az simply pointed to an unrepentant-looking Avye.

"Her driving happened," drawled Wylie. "Savita is now the proud owner of several traumatized, dead, or injured pigeons, two shaken women, one startled boy, and a herd of mentally traumatized cows. Oh, and a crazy maniacal lady with a car."

Lia giggled as she walked through the door. "It couldn't have been that bad," she replied, but then froze as she saw the former passengers.

Kee looked at her solemnly. "It could."

"Well, Ton wants all of us to head over to his girlfriend's tomorrow. Who wants to drive?" she asked.

Avye raised an eyebrow at her. "I do. Gatekeeper's privilege."

"Can we take Az's car?" Tavor quickly interjected.

Az shook his head, and removed the crushed car from his pocket. "I'm afraid that drive did a number on it. It's going nowhere, fast."

Tavor and Wylie turned hopeful looks toward Avye. "Can we take Ton's car? Please?"

Ton shook his head as he walked in. "No can do. She's not on my insurance, and there's no way I'm letting her drive my car."

"Yes!" Avye cheered, throwing a fist up in the air in her excitement. Her wild grin was back in full force.

Tavor, Wylie, Kee, and Az exchanged looks, while Marly, Lia, and Ton blanched. On Avye, wild grins spelled chaos, fear, and some sort of trauma.

"I'll go update our health insurance," volunteered Az, turning to the phone.

"I'll get the vomit buckets," Kee said, stumbling off.

Tavor and Wylie only exchanged looks. "Do you think Mr. Reeves could do our wills over the phone?"


End file.
